View source for Art of ancient Egypt

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{{redirect|Egyptian art|the art of modern Egypt|Contemporary art in Egypt}}
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| caption1 = The ''[[Mask of Tutankhamun]]''; {{circa|1327&nbsp;BC}}; gold, glass and semi-precious stones; height: {{convert|54|cm|in|abbr=on}}; [[Egyptian Museum]] ([[Cairo]])
| image2 = Menna and Family Hunting in the Marshes, Tomb of Menna MET DT10878.jpg
| caption2 = Menna and Family Hunting in the Marshes, Tomb of Menna, 14th century BC
| image3 = Great Pyramid of Giza and Egyptian sky.jpg
| caption3 = The [[Great Pyramid of Giza]], constructed between {{circa|2580}}–2560&nbsp;BC during the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt|Old Kingdom period]]
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{{Ancient Egyptian culture}}
{{History of art sidebar}}

'''Ancient Egyptian art''' refers to art produced in [[ancient Egypt]] between the 6th&nbsp;millennium&nbsp;BC and the 4th&nbsp;century&nbsp;AD, spanning from [[Prehistoric Egypt]] until [[Constantine the Great and Christianity|the Christianization]] of [[Roman Egypt]]. It includes paintings, sculptures, drawings on papyrus, [[Egyptian faience|faience]], jewelry, ivories, architecture, and other art media. It was a conservative tradition whose style changed very little over time. Much of the surviving examples comes from tombs and monuments, giving insight into the [[ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs]].

The [[ancient Egyptian language]] had no word for "art". Artworks served an essentially functional purpose that was bound with [[Ancient Egyptian religion|religion]] and [[ideology]]. To render a subject in art was to give it permanence. Therefore, ancient Egyptian art portrayed an idealized, unrealistic view of the world. There was no significant tradition of individual artistic expression since art served a wider and cosmic purpose of maintaining order ([[Ma'at]]).

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==Art of Pre-Dynastic Egypt (6000–3000 BC)==
[[File:Predynastic collage (new version).jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Artifacts of Egypt from the Prehistoric period, 4400–3100&nbsp;BC: clockwise from top left: a Badarian ivory figurine, a Naqada jar, a [[Bat (goddess)|Bat]] figurine, a [[cosmetic palette]], a [[Gebel el-Arak Knife|flint knife]], and a [[diorite]] vase.]]
Pre-Dynastic Egypt, corresponding to the [[Neolithic]] period of the [[prehistory of Egypt]], spanned from {{circa|6000&nbsp;BC}} to the beginning of the [[Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)|Early Dynastic Period]], around 3100&nbsp;BC.

Continued expansion of the desert forced the early ancestors of the [[Egyptians]] to settle around the [[Nile]] and adopt a more sedentary lifestyle during the [[Neolithic]]. The period from 9000 to 6000&nbsp;BC has left very little archaeological evidence, but around 6000&nbsp;BC, Neolithic settlements began to appear all over Egypt.{{sfn|Redford|1992|p=[https://archive.org/details/egyptcanaanisrae00redf/page/6 6]}} Studies based on [[Morphology (biology)|morphological]],<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Brace | first1 = C. Loring | last2 = Seguchi | first2 = Noriko | last3 = Quintyn | first3 = Conrad B. | last4 = Fox | first4 = Sherry C. | last5 = Nelson | first5 = A. Russell | last6 = Manolis | first6 = Sotiris K. | last7 = Qifeng | first7 = Pan | year = 2006 | title = The questionable contribution of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age to European craniofacial form | journal = [[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]] | volume = 103 | issue = 1| pages = 242–247 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.0509801102 | pmid=16371462 | pmc=1325007|bibcode = 2006PNAS..103..242B | doi-access = free }}</ref> [[Genetics|genetic]],<ref>Genetic data:
* {{cite journal | last1 = Chicki | first1 = L | last2 = Nichols | first2 = RA | last3 = Barbujani | first3 = G | last4 = Beaumont | first4 = MA | year = 2002 | title = Y genetic data support the Neolithic demic diffusion model | journal = Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA | volume = 99 | issue = 17| pages = 11008–11013 | doi=10.1073/pnas.162158799|bibcode = 2002PNAS...9911008C | pmid=12167671 | pmc=123201|ref=none| doi-access = free }}
* {{cite web|url=http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/21/7/1361/T03 |title=Estimating the Impact of Prehistoric Admixture on the Genome of Europeans, Dupanloup et al., 2004 |publisher=Mbe.oxfordjournals.org |access-date=1 May 2012|ref=none}}
* {{cite journal|title=Origin, Diffusion, and Differentiation of Y-Chromosome Haplogroups E and J: Inferences on the Neolithization of Europe and Later Migratory Events in the Mediterranean Area, 2004 |date= May 2004|pmc=1181965 |pmid=15069642 |doi=10.1086/386295 |volume=74 |issue= 5|journal=Am. J. Hum. Genet. |pages=1023–1034 | last1 = Semino | first1 = O | last2 = Magri | first2 = C | last3 = Benuzzi | first3 = G |display-authors=etal|ref=none }}
* {{cite journal|url=http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=1715849&blobtype=pdf |title=Paleolithic and Neolithic lineages in the European mitochondrial gene pool|last1=Cavalli-Sforza|date=1997 |access-date=1 May 2012|pmc=1715849|pmid=9246011|doi=10.1016/S0002-9297(07)64303-1|volume=61|issue=1|journal=Am J Hum Genet|pages=247–54|ref=none}}
* {{cite journal|title=Clines of nuclear DNA markers suggest a largely Neolithic ancestry of the European gene|last1=Chikhi|journal=PNAS| volume=95|pages=9053–9058|date=21 July 1998 |issue=15 |doi=10.1073/pnas.95.15.9053 |pmid=9671803 |pmc=21201|bibcode = 1998PNAS...95.9053C|ref=none |doi-access=free}}
</ref> and [[Archaeology|archaeological]] data<ref>Archaeological data:
* {{cite journal | last1 = Bar Yosef | first1 = Ofer | year = 1998 | title = The Natufian Culture in the Levant, Threshold to the Origins of Agriculture | journal = Evolutionary Anthropology | volume = 6 | issue = 5| pages = 159–177 | doi=10.1002/(sici)1520-6505(1998)6:5<159::aid-evan4>3.0.co;2-7| s2cid = 35814375 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book|first1=M.|last1=Zvelebil|title=Hunters in Transition: Mesolithic Societies and the Transition to Farming|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, UK|date=1986|pages=5–15, 167–188|ref=none}}
* {{cite book|first1=P.|last1=Bellwood|title=First Farmers: The Origins of Agricultural Societies|publisher=Blackwell|location=Malden, MA|year=2005|ref=none}}
* {{cite journal|first1=M.|last1=Dokládal|first2=J.|last2=Brožek|title=Physical Anthropology in Czechoslovakia: Recent Developments|journal=Current Anthropology|volume=2|issue=5|date=1961|pages=455–477|doi=10.1086/200228|s2cid=161324951|ref=none}}
* {{cite journal|first1=M.|last1=Zvelebil|title=On the transition to farming in Europe, or what was spreading with the Neolithic: a reply to Ammerman |journal=Antiquity|year=1989|volume=63|issue=239|pages=379–383|doi=10.1017/S0003598X00076110| s2cid=162882505 |ref=none}}
</ref> have attributed these settlements to migrants from the [[Fertile Crescent]] returning during the [[Neolithic Revolution]], bringing [[agriculture]] to the region.<ref>{{cite book |last=Diamond|first= Jared|author-link=Jared Diamond| year=1999|title=Guns, Germs, and Steel|location= New York|publisher= Norton Press|isbn= 0-393-31755-2|title-link= Guns, Germs, and Steel}}</ref>

===Merimde culture (5000–4200 BC)===
From about 5000 to 4200&nbsp;BC, the [[Merimde culture]], known only from a large settlement site at the edge of the Western Nile Delta, flourished in Lower Egypt. The culture has strong connections to the [[Prehistoric Egypt#Faiyum A culture|Faiyum&nbsp;A culture]] as well as the Levant. People lived in small huts, produced simple undecorated pottery, and had stone tools. Cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs were raised, and wheat, sorghum and barley were planted. The Merimde people buried their dead within the settlement and produced clay figurines.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Josef|last1=Eiwanger|section=Merimde Beni-salame|title=Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt|editor1-first=Kathryn A.|editor1-last=Bard|editor1-link=Kathryn A. Bard |location=London/New York|date=1999|pages=501–505}}</ref> The first Egyptian life-size head made of clay comes from Merimde.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/diplo/de/Aussenpolitik/KulturDialog/BilderMitBU/DAI/100JahreDAI,curImg=196968,__page=1.html |title=picture of the Merimde head |language=de |publisher=Auswaertiges-amt.de |access-date=1 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302154547/http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/diplo/de/Aussenpolitik/KulturDialog/BilderMitBU/DAI/100JahreDAI%2CcurImg%3D196968%2C__page%3D1.html |archive-date=2 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===Badarian culture (4400–4000 BC)===
The [[Badarian culture]], from about 4400 to 4000&nbsp;BC,<ref name="Shaw 479">{{cite book |editor-last=Shaw |editor-first=Ian |title=The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-815034-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordhisto00shaw/page/479 479] |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordhisto00shaw/page/479 }}</ref> is named for the [[Badari]] site near Der Tasa. It followed the [[Tasian culture]] (c.&nbsp;4500&nbsp;BC) but was so similar that many consider them one continuous period. The Badarian culture continued to produce blacktop-ware pottery (albeit much improved in quality) and was assigned [[sequence dating]] (SD) numbers 21–29.<ref name="Gardiner 389">Gardiner, Alan, ''Egypt of the Pharaohs'' (Oxford: University Press, 1964), p. 389.</ref> The primary difference that prevents scholars from merging the two periods is that Badarian sites use copper in addition to stone and are thus [[chalcolithic]] settlements, while the [[Neolithic]] Tasian sites are still considered [[Stone Age]].<ref name="Gardiner 389"/>

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File:Badarian Burial.jpg|A Badarian burial. 4500–3850 BC
File:Woman-E 11887-IMG 9547-cropped.jpg|Mortuary figurine of a woman; 4400–4000&nbsp;BC; crocodile bone; height: 8.7&nbsp;cm; [[Louvre]]
File:String of beads MET 32.2.42 EGDP012905.jpg|String of beads; 4400–3800&nbsp;BC; the beads are made of bone, [[serpentinite]] and shell; length: 15&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Vase in the shape of a hippopotamus. Early Predynastic, Badarian. Fifth millennium BC. From Mostagedda.jpg|Vase in the shape of a hippopotamus. Early Predynastic, Badarian. 5th millennium BC
</gallery>

===Naqada culture (4000–3000 BC)===
The [[Naqada culture]] is an archaeological culture of [[Chalcolithic]] [[Predynastic Egypt]] (c.&nbsp;4400–3000&nbsp;BC), named for the town of [[Naqada]], [[Qena Governorate]]. It is divided into three sub-periods: Naqada&nbsp;I, II and III.

====Naqada I====
The Amratian ([[Naqada I]]) culture lasted from about 4000 to 3500&nbsp;BC.<ref name="Shaw 479"/> Black-topped ware continues to appear, but white cross-line ware&nbsp;– a type of pottery which has been decorated with crossing sets of close parallel white lines&nbsp;– is also found at this time. The Amratian period falls between 30 and 39&nbsp;SD.<ref name="Gardiner 390">Gardiner, Alan, ''Egypt of the Pharaohs'' (Oxford: University Press, 1964), p. 390.</ref>

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
File:Naqada black top.jpg|Ovoid [[Naqada I]] (Amratian) black-topped terracotta vase, (c. 3800–3500 BC)
File:Ibex comb-E 27438-IMG 9558-gradient.jpg|[[Ibex]] comb; 3800–3500&nbsp;BC; hippopotamus ivory; 6.5 × 3.8 × 0.2&nbsp;cm; [[Louvre]]
File:Predynastic bearded man-MGR Lyon-IMG 9928.jpg|Figurine of a bearded man; 3800–3500&nbsp;BC; [[breccia]]; from [[Upper Egypt]]; [[Musée des Confluences]] ([[Lyon]], France)
File:White cross-lined bowl with four legs MET DP244613 (cropped).jpg|White cross-lined bowl with four legs; 3700–3500&nbsp;BC; painted pottery; height: 15.6&nbsp;cm, diameter: 19.7&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
</gallery>

====Naqada II====
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| caption1 = Egyptian prehistoric [[Gebel el-Arak Knife]] ivory handle (back), [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]], [[Egypt]]. [[Louvre Museum]].<ref name="louvre1">{{cite web |title=Site officiel du musée du Louvre |url=http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=668 |website=cartelfr.louvre.fr}}</ref>
| image2 = Gebel el-Arak Knife ivory handle (front top part detail).jpg
| caption2 = [[Mesopotamia]]n king as [[Master of Animals]] on the [[Gebel el-Arak Knife]]. This work of art both shows the influence of Mesopotamia on [[Egypt]] at an early date, during a period of [[Egypt-Mesopotamia relations|Egypt–Mesopotamia relations]], and the state of Mesopotamian royal iconography during the Uruk period.<ref name="louvre1"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Jerrol S. |title=The Study of the Ancient Near East in the Twenty-first Century: The William Foxwell Albright Centennial Conference |date=1996 |publisher=Eisenbrauns |isbn=9780931464966 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3hc1Yp0VcjoC&pg=PA10|pages=10–14 }}</ref>
}}

The [[Gerzean culture]] (Naqada II), from about 3500 to 3200&nbsp;BC,<ref name="Shaw 479"/> is named after the site of [[Gerzeh]]. It was the next stage in Egyptian cultural development, and it was during this time that the foundation of Dynastic Egypt was laid. Gerzean culture is largely an unbroken development of [[Amratian culture]], starting in the Nile delta and moving south through Upper Egypt, but failing to dislodge Amratian culture in Nubia.{{sfn|Redford|1992|p=16}} Gerzean pottery has been assigned SD values of 40 through 62, and is distinctly different from Amratian white cross-lined wares or black-topped ware.<ref name="Gardiner 390"/> It was painted mostly in dark red with pictures of animals, people, and ships, as well as geometric symbols that appear to have been derived from animals.{{sfn|Redford|1992|p=16}} Wavy handles, which were rare before this period (though occasionally found as early as SD 35), became more common and more elaborate until they were almost completely ornamental.<ref name="Gardiner 390"/>

During this period, distinctly foreign objects and art forms entered Egypt, indicating contact with several parts of Asia, particularly with Mesopotamia. Objects such as the [[Gebel el-Arak Knife]] handle, which has patently Mesopotamian relief carvings on it, have been found in Egypt,<ref>Shaw, Ian. & Nicholson, Paul, ''The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt,'' (London: British Museum Press, 1995), p. 109.</ref> and the silver which appears in this period can only have been obtained from [[Asia Minor]].{{sfn|Redford|1992|p=16}} In addition, Egyptian objects were created which clearly mimic Mesopotamian forms.{{sfn|Redford|1992|p=18}} Cylinder seals appeared in Egypt, as well as recessed paneling architecture. The Egyptian reliefs on [[cosmetic palette]]s were made in the same style as the contemporary Mesopotamian [[Uruk culture]], and ceremonial mace heads from the late Gerzean and early Semainean were crafted in the Mesopotamian "pear-shaped" style, instead of the Egyptian native style.{{sfn|Redford|1992|p=17}}

The route of this trade is difficult to determine, but contact with [[Canaan]] does not predate the early dynastic, so it is usually assumed to have been by water.{{sfn|Redford|1992|p=22}} During the time when the Dynastic Race Theory was popular, it was theorized that Uruk sailors circumnavigated [[Arabia]], but a [[Mediterranean]] route, probably by middlemen through [[Byblos]], is more likely, as evidenced by the presence of [[Byblos|Byblian]] objects in Egypt.{{sfn|Redford|1992|p=22}}

The fact that so many Gerzean sites are at the mouths of [[wadi]]s which lead to the Red Sea may indicate some amount of trade via the Red Sea (though Byblian trade potentially could have crossed the Sinai and then taken to the Red Sea).{{sfn|Redford|1992|p=20}} Also, it is considered unlikely that something as complicated as recessed panel architecture could have worked its way into Egypt by proxy, and at least a small contingent of migrants is often suspected.{{sfn|Redford|1992|p=22}}

Despite this evidence of foreign influence, Egyptologists generally agree that the Gerzean Culture is predominantly indigenous to Egypt.

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
File:Decorated ware jar illustrating boats and trees MET DP241281 (cropped).jpg|Decorated ware jar illustrating boats and trees; 3650–3500&nbsp;BC; painted pottery; height: 16.2&nbsp;cm, diameter: 12.9&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
File:Female Figure, ca. 3500-3400 B.C.E..jpg|Female figure; c.&nbsp;3600&nbsp;BC; terracotta; 29.2 × 14 × 5.7&nbsp;cm; from [[Ma'mariya]] (Egypt); [[Brooklyn Museum]] (New York City)
File:Amulet in the form of a head of an elephant MET DP109384 (cropped).jpg|Amulet in the form of a head of an elephant; 3500–3300&nbsp;BC; [[serpentine subgroup|serpentine]] (the green part) and bone (the eyes); 3.5 × 3.6 × 2.1&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
File:Gebel el-Arak knife mp3h8783-cropped.jpg|The [[Gebel el-Arak Knife]]; 3300–3200&nbsp;BC; elephant ivory (the handle) and flint (the blade); length: 25.5&nbsp;cm; most likely from [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]] (Egypt); [[Louvre]]
File:Jar with Lug Handles LACMA M.71.73.54.jpg|Jar with lug handles; c.&nbsp;3500–3050&nbsp;BC; [[diorite]]; height: 13&nbsp;cm; [[Los Angeles County Museum of Art]] (US)
</gallery>

====Protodynastic Period (Naqada III)====
{{main|Naqada III}}
The Naqada III period, from about 3200 to 3000&nbsp;BC,<ref name="Shaw 479"/> is generally taken to be identical with the [[Protodynastic Period of Egypt|Protodynastic]] period, during which Egypt was unified.

Naqada III is notable for being the first era with [[hieroglyphs]] (though this is disputed), the first regular use of [[serekh]]s, the first irrigation, and the first appearance of royal cemeteries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.faiyum.com/html/naqada_iii.html |title=Naqada III |publisher=Faiyum.com |access-date=1 May 2012}}</ref> The art of the Naqada&nbsp;III period was quite sophisticated, exemplified by [[cosmetic palette]]s. These were used in [[predynastic Egypt]] to grind and apply ingredients for facial or body cosmetics. By the Protodynastic period, the decorative palettes appear to have lost this function and were instead commemorative, ornamental, and possibly ceremonial. They were made almost exclusively from [[siltstone]], which originated from quarries in the [[Wadi Hammamat]]. Many of the palettes were found at [[Hierakonpolis]], a center of power in predynastic Upper Egypt. After the unification of the country, the palettes ceased to be included in tomb assemblages.

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
File:Squat Vase with Lug Handles LACMA 50.37.8.jpg|Squat vase with lug handles; 3050–2920&nbsp;BC; [[Porphyry (geology)|porphyry]]; 11 × 20&nbsp;cm; [[Los Angeles County Museum of Art]] (US)
File:Davis comb 02 (cropped).jpg|The ''Davis comb''; 3200–3100&nbsp;BC; ivory; 5.5 × 3.9 × 0.5&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:The Battlefield Palette 3100 BC - Joy of Museums.jpg|The Battlefield palette; 3100&nbsp;BC; mudstone; width: 28.7&nbsp;cm, depth: 1&nbsp;cm; from [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]] (Egypt); [[British Museum]] (London)
File:Early dynastic statue of a squatting baboon 02.jpg|Baboon Divinity bearing name of Pharaoh Narmer on its base; c.&nbsp;3100&nbsp;BC; [[calcite]]; height: 52&nbsp;cm; [[Egyptian Museum of Berlin]] (Germany)
File:Palette with Bull-E 11255-IMG 9459-9466-gradient.jpg|Both sides of the ''[[Bull palette]]''; c.&nbsp;3200–3000&nbsp;BC; [[greywacke]] or [[schist]]; 25&nbsp;cm; [[Louvre]]
</gallery>

==Art of Dynastic Egypt==
===Early Dynastic Period (3100–2685 BC)===
{{See also|Early Dynastic Period of Egypt}}
The [[Early Dynastic Period of Egypt]] immediately follows the unification of [[Upper and Lower Egypt]], c.&nbsp;3100&nbsp;BC. It is generally taken to include the [[First Dynasty of Egypt|First]] and [[Second Dynasty of Egypt|Second Dynasties]], lasting from the end of the Naqada&nbsp;III archaeological period until about 2686&nbsp;BC, or the beginning of the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt|Old Kingdom]].<ref name="Shaw 479" />

[[Cosmetic palette]]s reached a new level of sophistication during this period, in which the Egyptian writing system also experienced further development. Initially, Egyptian writing was composed primarily of a few symbols denoting amounts of various substances. In the cosmetic palettes, symbols were used together with pictorial descriptions. By the end of the Third Dynasty, this had been expanded to include more than 200 symbols, both [[Phonogram (linguistics)|phonogram]]s and [[ideogram]]s.<ref name=Kinnaer>{{cite web|last=Kinnaer|first=Jacques|title=Early Dynastic Period|url=http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Early-Dynastic-Period_1.pdf|work=The Ancient Egypt Site|access-date=4 April 2012}}</ref>

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Narmer Palette.jpg|Both sides of the [[Narmer Palette]]; c.&nbsp;3100&nbsp;BC; [[greywacke]]; height: 63&nbsp;cm; from [[Hierakonpolis]] (Egypt); [[Egyptian Museum]] ([[Cairo]])
File:MacGregor_Plate_(with_background).jpg|[[MacGregor plaque|Tag depicting king Den]]; c.&nbsp;3000&nbsp;BC; ivory; 4.5 × 5.3&nbsp;cm; from [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]] (Egypt); [[British Museum]] (London)<ref>{{cite book|last1=Campbell|first1=Price|title=Ancient Egypt - Pocket Museum|date=2018|publisher=Thames & Hudson|page=31|isbn=978-0-500-51984-4}}</ref>
Stela of Raneb MET DP259528.jpg|Stela of [[Raneb]]; c.&nbsp;2880&nbsp;BC; granite; height: 1 m, width: 41&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
Child's bracelet MET 01.4.2 01-20-01 (cropped).jpg|Bracelet; c.&nbsp;2650&nbsp;BC; gold; diameter: 6&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
</gallery>

===Old Kingdom (2686–2181 BC)===
{{main|Old Kingdom of Egypt}}
The [[Old Kingdom of Egypt]] is the period spanning c.&nbsp;2686–2181&nbsp;BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid builders of the [[Fourth Dynasty of Egypt|Fourth Dynasty]]. King [[Sneferu]] perfected the art of [[pyramid]]-building and the [[pyramids of Giza]] were constructed under the kings [[Khufu]], [[Khafre]] and [[Menkaure]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Old_Kingdom_of_Egypt/| title=Old Kingdom of Egypt|encyclopedia=[[World History Encyclopedia]]|access-date=2017-12-04}}</ref> [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] attained its first sustained peak of civilization, the first of three so-called "Kingdom" [[Egyptian chronology|periods]] (followed by the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] and [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]]) which mark the high points of civilization in the lower [[Nile Valley]].
{{clear}}
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">

File:Saqqara BW 5.jpg|The [[Pyramid of Djoser]] at [[Saqqara]], 2667–2648&nbsp;BC, by [[Imhotep]], the most famous [[step pyramid]] of Egypt
File:Menkaura.jpg|Statue of [[Menkaure]] with [[Hathor]] and [[Cynopolis]]; 2551–2523&nbsp;BC; [[schist]]; height: 95.5&nbsp;cm; [[Egyptian Museum, Cairo|Egyptian Museum]] (Cairo). Demonstrates a group statue with Old Kingdom features and proportions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org/detail.aspx?id=14994|title=Statue of Menkaure with Hathor and Cynopolis|website=The Global Egyptian Museum}}</ref>

File:Ägyptisches Museum Kairo 2016-03-29 Rahotep Nofret 01.jpg|Statues of Prince [[Rahotep]] and [[Nofret]];a circa 2613-2494 BC; [[Egyptian museum]] at [[Cairo]]

File:Ägyptisches Museum Kairo 2016-03-29 Ka-aper 01.jpg|Wooden statue of the scribe [[Kaaper]]; c.&nbsp;2450&nbsp;BC; wood, copper and rock crystal; height: 1.1&nbsp;m; from [[Saqqara]]; Egyptian Museum (Cairo)

File:Scribe accroupi Saqquara Louvre E3023-01b.jpg|[[The Seated Scribe]] at [[Louvre Museum]]

File:Seated portrait statue of Dersenedj - scribe and administrator of the Old Kingdom 03.jpg|Seated portrait statue of Dersenedj, scribe and administrator; c. 2400 BC; rose granite; height: 68&nbsp;cm; from Giza; Egyptian Museum of Berlin

Seated portrait group of Dersenedj and his wife Nofretka from the Old Kingdom 01.jpg|Seated portrait group of Dersenedj and his wife Nofretka; c. 2400 BC; rose granite; Egyptian Museum of Berlin
</gallery>

===Middle Kingdom (c. 2055–1650 BC)===
{{main|Middle Kingdom of Egypt}}
[[File: Aswan, Egypt WestBankTombs 2007jan15. 14 byDanielCsorfoly.JPG|thumb|A room from the tomb of [[Sarenput&nbsp;II]], at [[Aswan]] (Egypt). The rough translation of the wall is, "Blessed in the service of Satet, mistress of the Elephantine and of Nekhbet, Nabure-Nakht". ''Nabur-Nakht'' was another name of Sarenput.]]
The [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt]] ({{aka}} "the Period of Reunification") is marked by political division known as the [[First Intermediate Period of Egypt|First Intermediate Period]]. The Middle Kingdom lasted from around 2050&nbsp;BC to around 1710&nbsp;BC, from the reunification of Egypt under the reign of [[Mentuhotep&nbsp;II]] of the [[Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt|Eleventh Dynasty]] to the end of the [[Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt|Twelfth Dynasty]]. The Eleventh Dynasty ruled from [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]] and the Twelfth Dynasty ruled from [[Lisht|el-Lisht]]. During the Middle Kingdom period, [[Osiris]] became the most important deity in [[ancient Egyptian religion#Popular religion|popular religion]].<ref>David, Rosalie (2002). ''Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt''. Penguin Books. p. 156</ref> The Middle Kingdom was followed by the [[Second Intermediate Period of Egypt]], another period of division that involved foreign invasions of the country by the [[Hyksos]] of West Asia.

After the reunification of Egypt in the Middle Kingdom, the kings of the Eleventh and Twelfth Dynasties were able to return their focus to art. In the Eleventh Dynasty, the king's monuments were made in a style influenced by the Memphite models of the Fifth and early Sixth Dynasties and the pre-unification Theban relief style all but disappeared. These changes had an ideological purpose, as the Eleventh Dynasty kings were establishing a centralized state, and returning to the political ideals of the Old Kingdom.{{sfn|Robins|2008|p=90}} In the early Twelfth Dynasty, the artwork had a uniformity of style due to the influence of the royal workshops. It was at this point that the quality of artistic production for the elite members of society reached a high point that was never surpassed, although it was equaled during other periods.{{sfn|Robins|2008|p=109}} Egypt's prosperity in the late Twelfth Dynasty was reflected in the quality of the materials used for royal and private monuments.

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
File:Ägyptisches Museum Kairo 2016-03-29 Mentuhotep 02.jpg|An [[Osiris|Osiride]] statue of the first pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom, [[Mentuhotep&nbsp;II]]; 2061–2010&nbsp;BC; painted [[sandstone]]; 138 × 47&nbsp;cm; [[Egyptian Museum, Cairo|Egyptian Museum (Cairo)]]

File:Portrait head of an Egyptian from Thebes.jpg|Portrait head of an Egyptian from [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]]; circa 2000 BC; granite; [[Egyptian Museum of Berlin]] (Germany)

File:Egypt, Middle Kingdom, late Dynasty 12 - Scarab - 1914.748 - Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg|Scarab; c. 1980 BC; gold; overall: 1.1&nbsp;cm; [[Cleveland Museum of Art]] ([[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], US)
File:Egypt, Meir, Middle Kingdom, mid-Dynasty 12, reign of Amenemhat II to Sesos - Coffin of Senbi - 1914.716 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif|Coffin of Senbi; 1918–1859&nbsp;BC; gessoed and painted cedar; overall: 70 x 55&nbsp;cm; Cleveland Museum of Art
File:Jewelry chest of Sithathoryunet MET DP330328.jpg|Jewelry chest of Sithathoryunet; 1887–1813&nbsp;BC; ebony, ivory, gold, carnelian, blue faience and silver; height: 36.7&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Mirror of the Chief of the Southern Tens Reniseneb MET 26.7.1351 EGDP012746.jpg|Mirror with a papyrus-shaped handle; 1810–1700&nbsp;BC; unalloyed copper, gold and ebony; 22.3 × 11.3 × 2.5&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:GuardianStatueofAmenemhmatII.jpg|A guardian statue which reflects the facial features of the reigning king, probably [[Amenemhat I]] or [[Senwosret I]], and which functioned as a divine guardian for the [[Imiut fetish|imiut]]. Made of cedar wood and plaster {{circa}} 1919–1885 BC<ref>{{cite web |title=Guardian Figure |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/543864 |website=www.metmuseum.org |publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] |access-date=9 February 2022}}</ref>
File:Relief from the Chapel of the Overseer of the Troops Sehetepibre MET DP350014.jpg|Relief from the chapel of the overseer of the troops Sehetepibre; 1802–1640&nbsp;BC; painted limestone; 30.5 × 42.5&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
</gallery>

<gallery widths="320px" heights="80px">
File:Lintel of Amenemhat I and Deities MET DP322051.jpg|[[Lintel]] of [[Amenemhat I]] and deities; 1981–1952&nbsp;BC; painted limestone; 36.8 × 172&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)

File:Procession of the Aamu, Tomb of Khnumhotep II (composite).jpg|A group of West Asiatic peoples (possibly [[Canaan|Canaanites]] and precursors of the future [[Hyksos]]) depicted entering Egypt circa 1900 BC. From the tomb of a 12th dynasty official [[Khnumhotep II]].{{sfn|Bard|2015|p=188}}{{sfn|Van de Mieroop|2010|p=131}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kamrin|first1=Janice|title=The Aamu of Shu in the Tomb of Khnumhotep II at Beni Hassan |journal=Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections|date=2009|volume=1|issue=3|pages=22–36 |s2cid=199601200 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Curry |first1=Andrew|title=The Rulers of Foreign Lands – Archaeology Magazine|website=www.archaeology.org |date=2018|url=https://www.archaeology.org/issues/309-1809/features/6855-egypt-hyksos-foreign-dynasty}}</ref>
</gallery>

===Second Intermediate Period (c. 1650–1550 BC)===
{{main|Second Intermediate Period of Egypt|Hyksos}}
{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=400|caption_align=center
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| header=The so-called "Hyksos Sphinxes"
| image1 = Hyksos Sphinxes.jpg
| image2 = Sphinx Amenemhat3 Budge.jpg
| footer=The so-called "Hyksos Sphinxes" are peculiar sphinxes of [[Amenemhat III]] which were reinscribed by several Hyksos rulers, including [[Apepi (pharaoh)|Apepi]]. Earlier Egyptologists thought these were the faces of actual Hyksos rulers.{{sfn|el-Shahawy|2005|p=160}}
}}
The [[Hyksos]], a dynasty of rulers originating from the [[Levant]], do not appear to have produced any court art,{{sfn|Bietak|1999|p=379}} instead appropriating monuments from earlier dynasties by writing their names on them. Many of these are inscribed with the name of King [[Khyan]].{{sfn|Müller|2018|p=212}} A large palace at [[Avaris]] has been uncovered, built in the Levantine rather than the Egyptian style, most likely by Khyan.{{sfn|Bard|2015|p=213}} King [[Apepi (pharaoh)|Apepi]] is known to have patronized Egyptian scribal culture, commissioning the copying of the [[Rhind Mathematical Papyrus]].{{sfn|Van de Mieroop|2021|pp=151–153}} The stories preserved in the [[Westcar Papyrus]] may also date from his reign.{{sfn|Redford|1992|p=122}}

The so-called "[[Commons:Category:Hyksos sphinxes of Amenemhat III|Hyksos sphinxes]]" or "Tanite sphinxes" are a group of royal sphinxes depicting the earlier Pharaoh [[Amenemhat III]] (Twelfth Dynasty) with some unusual traits compared to conventional statuary, for example prominent cheekbones and the thick mane of a lion, instead of the traditional [[nemes]] headcloth. The name "Hyksos sphinxes" was given due to the fact that these were later reinscribed by several of the Hyksos kings, and were initially thought to represent the Hyksos kings themselves. Nineteenth-century scholars attempted to use the statues' features to assign a racial origin to the Hyksos.{{sfn|Candelora|2018|p=54}} These sphinxes were seized by the Hyksos from cities of the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] and then transported to their capital Avaris where they were reinscribed with the names of their new owners and adorned their palace.{{sfn|el-Shahawy|2005|p=160}} Seven of those sphinxes are known, all from [[Tanis]], and now mostly located in the [[Cairo Museum]].{{sfn|el-Shahawy|2005|p=160}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sayce |first1=A. H. |title=The Egypt of the Hebrews and Herodotos |date=1895 |isbn=978-3-7347-3964-4 |page=17 |publisher=Books on Demand |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EWeNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT17 }}</ref> [[:File:Statues of Shepherd Kings by Boston Public Library.jpg|Other statues of Amenehat III]] were found in Tanis and are associated with the Hyksos in the same manner.

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
File:Asiatic official Munich (retouched).jpg|An official wearing the "mushroom-headed" hairstyle also seen in contemporary paintings of Western Asiatic foreigners such as in the tomb of [[Khnumhotep II]], at [[Beni Hasan]]. Excavated in [[Avaris]], the Hyksos capital. [[Staatliche Sammlung für Ägyptische Kunst]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Candelora|first1=Danielle|title=The Hyksos |url=https://www.arce.org/resource/hyksos |website=www.arce.org |publisher=American Research Center in Egypt}}</ref>{{sfn|Roy|2011|pp=291-292}}<ref>{{cite journal |quote=A head from a statue of an official dating to the 12th or 13th Dynasty (1802–1640 B.C.) sports the mushroom-shaped hairstyle commonly worn by non-Egyptian immigrants from western Asia such as the Hyksos. |title=The Rulers of Foreign Lands |journal=Archaeology Magazine |url=https://www.archaeology.org/issues/309-1809/features/6855-egypt-hyksos-foreign-dynasty#art_page3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Potts|first1=Daniel T.|title=A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East|date=2012|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-6077-6 |page=841 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P5q7DDqMbF0C&pg=PA841}}</ref>
File:Khyan.jpg|Lion inscribed with the name of the Hyksos ruler [[Khyan]], found in [[Baghdad]], suggesting [[Egypt–Mesopotamia relations|relations with Babylon]]. The prenomen of Khyan and epithet appear on the breast. [[British Museum]], EA 987.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Weigall|first1=Arthur E. P. Brome|title=A History of the Pharaohs|date=2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-108-08291-4|page=188 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TGKcCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA188}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Statue |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/Y_EA987 |website=The British Museum}}</ref>
File:Hyksos dagger handle.jpg|upright=1.3|[[Electrum]] dagger handle of a soldier of Hyksos Pharaoh [[Apepi (pharaoh)|Apepi]], illustrating the soldier hunting with a short bow and sword. Inscriptions: "The perfect god, the lord of the two lands, Nebkhepeshre [[Apepi (pharaoh)|Apepi]]" and "Follower of his lord Nehemen", found at a burial at [[Saqqara]].{{sfn|O'Connor|2009|pp=116–117}} Now at the [[Luxor Museum]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wilkinson |first1=Toby|title=Lives of the Ancient Egyptians |date=2013|publisher=Thames and Hudson Limited|isbn=978-0-500-77162-4|page=96 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wVbGDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT96}}</ref>{{sfn|Daressy|1906|pp=115–120}}
File:"Tell el-Yahudiya" Vase in the Shape of a Duck MET 23.3.40 left.jpg|An example of Egyptian [[Tell el-Yahudiyeh Ware]], a Levantine-influenced style.
</gallery>

===New Kingdom (c. 1550–1069 BC)===
{{main|New Kingdom of Egypt}}
The [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]], also referred to as the "Egyptian Empire", is the period between the 16th and 11th&nbsp;centuries&nbsp;BC, covering the [[Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt|18th]], [[Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt|19th]], and [[Twentieth dynasty of Egypt|20th dynasties of Egypt]]. The New Kingdom followed the [[Second Intermediate Period of Egypt|Second Intermediate Period]] and was succeeded by the [[Third Intermediate Period of Egypt|Third Intermediate Period]]. It was [[Egypt]]'s most prosperous time and marked the peak of its power.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |editor-last=Shaw |editor-first=Ian |title=The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-815034-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordhisto00shaw/page/481 481] |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordhisto00shaw/page/481 }}</ref> This tremendous wealth can be attributed to the centralization of bureaucratic power and many successful military campaigns which opened trade routes. With the expansion of the Egyptian Empire, Kings gained access to important commodities such as cedar from Lebanon and luxury materials such as [[lapis lazuli]] and [[turquoise]].

The artwork produced during the New Kingdom falls into three broad periods: Pre-Amarna, Amarna, and [[Ramesside Period|Ramesside]]. Although stylistic changes as a result of shifts in power and variation of religious ideals occurred, the statuary and relief work throughout the New Kingdom continued to embody the main principles of Egyptian art: frontality and axiality, hierarchy of scale, and composite composition.

====Pre-Amarna====
The Pre-Amarna period, the beginning of the eighteenth dynasty of the New Kingdom, was marked by the growing power of Egypt as an expansive empire. The artwork reflects a combination of Middle Kingdom techniques and subjects with the newly accessed materials and styles of foreign lands.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Robin|first=Gay|title=The Art of Ancient Egypt|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2008|location=Cambridge, MA|pages=127–193}}</ref> A large portion of the art and architecture of the Pre-Amarna period was produced by Queen Hatshepshut, who led a widespread building campaign to all gods during her reign from 1473 to 1458 BC. The queen made significant additions to the temple at [[Karnak]], undertook the construction of an extensive mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri, and produced a prolific amount of statuary and relief work in hard stone. The extent of these building projects was made possible by the centralization of power in Thebes and reopening of trade routes by previous New Kingdom ruler Ahmose I.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Aldred|first=Cyril|title=New Kingdom Art in Ancient Egypt during the Eighteenth Dynast|publisher=Alec Tiranti|year=1951|location=London}}</ref>

The Queen's elaborate mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri provides many well-preserved examples of the artwork produced during the Pre-Amarna period. The massive three-level, colonnaded temple was built into the cliffs of Thebes and adorned with extensive painted relief. Subjects of these reliefs ranged from traditional funerary images and legitimization of Hatshepsut as the divine ruler of Egypt to battle and expedition scenes in foreign lands. The temple also housed numerous statues of the Queen and gods, particularly Amun-ra, some of which were colossal in scale. The artwork from Hatshepshut's reign is trademarked by the re-integration of Northern culture and style as a result of the reunification of Egypt. Thutmoses III, the predecessor to the Queen, also commissioned vast amounts of large-scale artwork and by his death Egypt was the most powerful empire in the world.<ref name=":4" />

=====State-Sponsored Temples=====
During the New Kingdom – the 18th Dynasty especially – it was common for Kings to commission large and elaborate temples dedicated to the major gods of Egypt. These structures, built from limestone or sandstone (materials more permanent than the mud brick used for earlier temples) and filled with rare materials and vibrant wall paintings, exemplify the wealth and access to resources that Egyptian Empire enjoyed during the New Kingdom. The temple at [[Karnak]], dedicated to Amun-ra, is one of the largest and best surviving examples of this type of state-sponsored architecture.<ref name=":5" />

<gallery widths="170" heights="170">
File:Eye (AM 1945.63-1) (cropped).jpg|Eye; 1550–1069&nbsp;BC; [[alabaster]] eye from a coffin; length: 50.8&nbsp;mm; [[Auckland War Memorial Museum]] ([[Auckland]], New Zealand)
File:Amenhotep II (46577008732).jpg|Ushabti of [[Amenhotep II]]; 1427–1400&nbsp;BC; [[Serpentine subgroup|serpentine]]; 29 × 9 × 0.65&nbsp;cm, 1.4&nbsp;kg; [[British Museum]] (London)
File:Arm Panel From a Ceremonial Chair of Thutmose IV MET eg30.8.45a-c.Av1.jpg|Arm panel from a ceremonial chair of [[Thutmose IV]]; 1400–1390&nbsp;BC; wood (''[[ficus sycomorus]]''?); height: 25.1&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
File:Gaming Board Inscribed for Amenhotep III with Separate Sliding Drawer, ca. 1390-1353 B.C.E.,49.56a-b.jpg|Gaming board inscribed for [[Amenhotep III]] with separate sliding drawer; 1390–1353&nbsp;BC; glazed faience; 5.5 × 7.7 × 21&nbsp;cm; [[Brooklyn Museum]] (New York City)
File:Amenhotep III (31661372097).jpg|Head of [[Amenhotep III]]; 1390–1352&nbsp;BC; [[quartzite]]; 24 × 20&nbsp;cm, 9.8&nbsp;kg; British Museum
File:Babuino (46613121321).jpg|Baboon figurine; 1390–1352&nbsp;BC; quartzite; 68.5 × 38.5 × 45&nbsp;cm, 180&nbsp;kg (estimated); British Museum
File:Statuette of the lady Tiye MET DT221869.jpg|[[Statuette of the lady Tiye]]; 1390–1349&nbsp;BC; wood, [[carnelian]], gold, glass, [[Egyptian blue]] and paint; height: 24&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
File:Abu Simbel Temple May 30 2007.jpg|[[Abu Simbel]], Temple of [[Ramesses&nbsp;II]]
</gallery>
<gallery widths="380px" heights="80px">
File:Syrians bringing presents in the tomb of Rekhmire (actual).jpg|Syrians bringing presents to [[Tuthmosis III]], in the tomb of [[Rekhmire]], circa 1450 BC. They are labeled "Chiefs of [[Retjenu]]".<ref>{{cite book |quote=The foreigners of the fourth register, with long hairstyles and calf-length fringed robes, are labeled Chiefs of Retjenu, the ancient name tor the Syrian region. Like the Nubians, they come with animals, in this case horses, an elephant, and a bear; they also offer weapons and vessels most likely filled with precious substance. |last1=Hawass|first1=Zahi A.|last2=Vannini|first2=Sandro|title=The lost tombs of Thebes: life in paradise|date=2009 |publisher=Thames & Hudson|page=120|isbn=9780500051597 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YjZZAAAAYAAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Zakrzewski|first1=Sonia |last2=Shortland|first2=Andrew|last3=Rowland|first3=Joanne |title=Science in the Study of Ancient Egypt |date=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-39195-1|page=268 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w6pACwAAQBAJ&pg=PA268}}</ref>
</gallery>

====Amarna art (c. 1350 BC)====
{{main|Amarna art}}
[[File:Nofretete Neues Museum.jpg|thumb|170px|The ''[[Nefertiti Bust|Bust of Nefertiti]]''; 1352–1336&nbsp;BC; limestone, plaster & paint; height: 48&nbsp;cm; from [[Amarna]] (Egypt); [[Egyptian Museum of Berlin]] (Germany)]]
Amarna art is named for the extensive archeological site at Tel el-[[Amarna]], where Pharaoh [[Akhenaten]] moved the capital in the late [[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Eighteenth Dynasty]]. This period, and the years leading up to it, constitute the most drastic interruption in the style of Egyptian art in the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms as a result of the rising prominence of the New Solar Theology and the eventual shift towards [[Atenism]] under Akhenaten.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hornung|first=Erik|title=Akhenaten and the Religion of Light|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=2001|isbn=0801436583|pages=19–30}}</ref> [[Amarna art]] is characterized by a sense of movement and a "subjective and sensual perception" of reality as it appeared in the world. Scenes often include overlapping figures creating the sensation of a crowd, which was less common in earlier times.

The artwork produced under Akhenaten was a reflection of the dramatic changes in culture, style, and religion that occurred under Akhenaten's rule. Sometimes called the New Solar Theology, the [[Atenism|new religion]] was a [[Monotheism|monotheistic]] worship of the sun, the Aten. Akhenaten placed emphasis on himself as the "co-regent", along with the Aten, as well as the mouthpiece of the Aten himself. Since the sun disk was worshiped at the ultimate life-giving power in this new theology, anything the sun's rays touched were blessed by this force. As a result, sacrifices and worship were likely conducted in open courtyards and the [[sunk relief|sunken relief]] technique which works best for outdoors carvings was also used for indoor works.

[[Portraiture in ancient Egypt|Portrayal of the human body]] shifted drastically under the reign of Akhenaten. For instance, many depictions of Akhenaten's body give him distinctly feminine qualities, such as large hips, prominent breasts, and a larger stomach and thighs. Facial representations of Akhenaten, such as in the sandstone [[Colossal Statues of Akhenaten at East Karnak|Statue of Akhenaten]], display him with an elongated chin, full lips, and hollow cheeks. These stylistic features extended past representations of Akhenaten and were further employed in the depiction of all figures of the royal family, as observed in the Portrait of [[Meritaten]] and Fragment of a queen's face. This is a divergence from the earlier Egyptian art which emphasized idealized youth and masculinity for male figures.

A notable innovation from the reign of Akhenaten was the religious elevation of the royal family, including Akhenaten's wife, [[Nefertiti]], and their three daughters.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Fazzini|first=Richard|date=October 1973|title=ART from the Age of Akhenaten|journal=Archaeological Institute of America|volume=26|issue=4|pages=298–302}}</ref> While earlier periods of Egyptian art depicted the king as the primary link between humanity and the gods, the Amarna period extended this power to those of the royal family.<ref name=":3" /> As visualized in the relief of a royal family and the different [[talatat]] blocks, each figure of the royal family is touched by the rays of the [[Aten]]. Nefertiti specifically is believed to have held a significant cultic role during this period.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Williamson|first=Jacqueline|date=2015|title=Alone before the God|journal=Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt|volume=51|pages=179–192|doi=10.5913/jarce.51.2015.a008|doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 }}</ref>

Not many buildings from this period have survived, partially as they were constructed with standard-sized blocks, known as talatat, which were very easy to remove and reuse. Temples in Amarna, following the trend, did not follow traditional Egyptian customs and were open, without ceilings, and had no closing doors. In the generations after Akhenaten's death, artists reverted to the traditional Egyptian styles of earlier periods. There were still traces of this period's style in later art, but in most respects, Egyptian art, like Egyptian religion, resumed its usual characteristics as though the period had never happened. Amarna itself was abandoned and considerable effort was undertaken to deface monuments from the reign, including disassembling buildings and reusing the blocks with their decoration facing inwards, as has recently been discovered in one later building.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Brand|first=Peter|date=September 25, 2010|title=Reuse and Restoration|journal=UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology|volume=1|issue=1|via=Escholarship}}</ref> The last King of the Eighteenth Dynasty, [[Horemheb]], sought to [[Damnatio memoriae|eliminate]] the influence of Amarna art and culture and reinstate the tradition powerful of the cult of Amun.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Aldred|first=Cyril|title=New Kingdom Art in Ancient Egypt|publisher=Alec Tiranti|year=1951|location=New Kingdom}}</ref>

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Relief depicting Akhenaton and Nefertiti with three of their daughters under the rays of Aton 01 (cropped).jpg|[[Relief]] of the royal family: [[Akhenaten]], [[Nefertiti]] and the three daughters; 1352–1336&nbsp;BC; painted [[limestone]]; 25 × 20&nbsp;cm; [[Egyptian Museum of Berlin]] (Germany)

Princess of Akhenaton family-E 14715-IMG 0319-gradient.jpg|Portrait of [[Meritaten]]; 1351–1332&nbsp;BC; painted limestone; height: 15.4&nbsp;cm; [[Louvre]]

Akhenaton-E 27112-IMG 4198-gradient.jpg|Statue of [[Akhenaten]]; c.&nbsp;1350&nbsp;BC; painted sandstone; 1.3 × 0.8 × 0.6&nbsp;m; Louvre

Talatat block with relief showing Nefertiti at prayer from the temple of Aton at Karnak (cropped).jpg|[[Talatat]] block with relief showing Nefertiti at prayer; circa 1350 BC; painted sandstone; height: 23.4&nbsp;cm; from [[Karnak]]; Egyptian Museum of Berlin

Talatat block with relief showing Akhenaton at prayer from the temple of Aton at Karnak (cropped).jpg|Talatat block with Akhenaton standing to the right, raising his hands in prayer to the rays of the sun god [[Aten]]; circa 1350 BC; painted sandstone; from Karnak; Egyptian Museum of Berlin

Shabti of Akhenaten MET DT11688.jpg|[[Shabti]] of Akhenaten; 1353–1336&nbsp;BC; faience; height: 11&nbsp;cm, width: 7.6&nbsp;cm, depth: 5.2&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)

Fragment of a Queen's Face MET DP355835.jpg|Fragment of a queen's face; 1353–1336&nbsp;BC; yellow [[jasper]]; height: 13&nbsp;cm, width: 12.5&nbsp;cm, depth: 12.5&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Cosmetic Dish in the Shape of a Trussed Duck MET 40.2.2ab back.jpg|Cosmetic dish in the shape of a trussed duck; 1353–1327 BC; hippopotamus ivory (tinted); duck (left), length: 9.5&nbsp;cm, width: 4.6&nbsp;cm; cover (right), length: 7.3&nbsp;cm, width: 4&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
</gallery>

=====Ramesside Period=====
[[File:Ramesses9.jpg|thumb|Portrait of [[Ramesses IX]] (ruled 1129–1111 BC), from his tomb [[KV6]]. [[20th Dynasty]].]]
With a concerted effort from Horemheb, the last King of Dynasty Eighteen, to eradicate all Amarna art and influence, the style of the art and architecture of the Empire transitioned into the Ramesside Period for the remainder of the New Kingdom ([[19th Dynasty|Nineteen]] and [[20th Dynasty|Twentieth Dynasties]]).<ref name=":4" /> In response to the religious and artistic revolution of the Amarna period, state-commissioned works demonstrate a clear return to tradition forms and renewed dedication to Amun-ra. However, some elements of Amarna bodily proportion persist; the small of the back does not move back to its lower, Middle Kingdom, height and human limbs remain somewhat elongated. With some modifications, 19th and 20th Dynasty Kings continued to build their funerary temples, which were dedicated to Amun-ra and located in Thebes, in their predecessors' style. The Ramses Kings also continued to build colossal statues such as those commissioned by Hatshepsut.<ref name=":5" />

During the Ramesside period kings made further contributions to the Temple at Karnak. The Great Hypostyle Hall, commissioned by Sety I (19th Dynasty), consisted of 134 sandstone columns supporting a 20-meter-high ceiling, and covering an acre of land. Sety I decorated most surfaces with intricate bas-relief while his successor, Ramses II added sunken relief work to the walls and columns in the southern side of the Great Hall. The interior carvings show king-god interactions, such as traditional legitimization of power scenes, processions, and rituals. Expansive depictions of military campaigns cover the exterior walls of Hypostyle Hall. Battle scenes illustrating chaotic, disordered enemies strewn over the conquered land and the victorious king as the most prominent figure, trademark the Ramesside period.<ref name=":5" />

The last period of the New Kingdom demonstrates a return to traditional Egyptian form and style, but the culture is not purely a reversion to the past. The art of the Ramesside period demonstrates the integration of canonized Egypt forms with modern innovations and materials. Advancements such as adorning all surfaces of tombs with paintings and relief and the addition of new funerary texts to burial chambers demonstrate the non-static nature of this period.<ref name=":5" />

===Third Intermediate Period (c. 1069–664 BC)===
{{main|Third Intermediate Period of Egypt|Black Pharaohs}}
{{multiple image|perrow=3|total_width=300|caption_align=center
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| image1 = Taharqa, Louvre Museum.jpg
| caption1 = [[Taharqa]]
| image2 = Tantamani, Louvre Museum reconstruction.jpg
| caption2 = [[Tantamani]]
| image3 = Senkamanisken_statue_reconstruction,_with_Kushite_headress.jpg
| caption3 = [[Senkamanisken]]
| footer=Statues of the "Black Pharaohs" (rulers of the [[25th Dynasty]] and the [[Kingdom of Kush]]), in the [[Louvre Museum]] (golden colors reconstructed through color pigment analysis)
}}
The Third Intermediate Period was one of decline and political instability, coinciding with the [[Late Bronze Age collapse]] of civilizations in the [[Near East]] and [[Eastern Mediterranean]] (including the [[Greek Dark Ages]]). It was marked by division of the state for much of the period and conquest and rule by foreigners.<ref>{{cite book |title=Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids |date=1999 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |isbn=978-0-87099-907-9 |page=20 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mxAZpKoo-YwC&pg=PR20 }}</ref> After an early period of fracturation, the country was firmly reunited by the [[Twenty-second dynasty of Egypt|Twenty-second Dynasty]] founded by [[Shoshenq I]] in 945 BC (or 943&nbsp;BC), who descended from [[Meshwesh]] immigrants, originally from [[Ancient Libya]]. The next period of the [[Twenty-fourth Dynasty of Egypt|Twenty-fourth Dynasty]] saw the increasing influence of the [[Nubian people|Nubian]] kingdom to the south took full advantage of this division and the ensuing political instability. Then around 732 BC, [[Piye]], marched north and defeated the combined might of several native Egyptian rulers: Peftjaubast, Osorkon IV of Tanis, [[Iuput II]] of Leontopolis and [[Tefnakht]] of Sais. He established the [[Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt|Twenty-fifth Dynasty]] of "Black Pharaos" originating from Nubia.

The Third Intermediate Period generally sees a return to archaic Egyptian styles, with particular reference to the art of the [[Old Kingdom|Old]] and [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]].<ref name="AL">{{cite journal |last1=Leahy |first1=Anthony |title=Royal Iconography and Dynastic Change, 750–525 BC: The Blue and Cap Crowns |journal=The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology |date=1992 |volume=78 |pages=239–240 |doi=10.2307/3822074 |jstor=3822074 |issn=0307-5133}}</ref> The art of the period essentially consists in traditional Egyptian styles, reintroduced for unknown reasons as early as [[Shoshenq V]] or [[Osorkon III]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Leahy |first1=Anthony |title=Royal Iconography and Dynastic Change, 750–525 BC: The Blue and Cap Crowns |journal=The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology |date=1992 |volume=78 |pages=238–329 |doi=10.2307/3822074 |jstor= 3822074 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3822074 |issn=0307-5133|url-access=subscription }}</ref> sometimes with the inclusion of some foreign characteristics, such as the particular iconography of the statues of the Nubian rulers of the [[Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt|Twenty-fifth Dynasty]].<ref name="AL"/> Although the Twenty-fifth Dynasty controlled Ancient Egypt for only 73 years, it holds an important place in Egyptian history due to the restoration of traditional Egyptian values, culture, art, and architecture, combined with some original creations such as the [[:File:Karnak_R03.jpg|monumental column of Taharqa]] in [[Karnak]].{{sfn|Robins|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=YD-z8hmdUMIC&pg=PA216 216]}}<ref name="Taharqa"/> During the 25th dynasty Egypt was ruled from [[Napata]] in [[Nubia]], now in modern [[Sudan]], and the Dynasty in turn permitted the expansion of Egyptian architectural styles to Lower Egypt and [[Nubia]].<ref name="AL"/>

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
File:Al-Kurru,main pyramid.jpg|Pyramid of [[Piye]], a Nubian king who conquered Upper Egypt and brought it under his control, at [[El-Kurru]] ([[Sudan]])
File:Chapelle Taharka Chepenoupet.jpg|Chapel of the "Black Pharaoh" [[Taharqa]] and his sister [[Shepenupet II]] in [[Karnak]]
File:Karnak R03.jpg|Monumental column elevated by the "Black Pharaoh" [[Taharqa]] in [[Karnak]]<ref name="Taharqa">{{cite web|title=Taharqa et Hémen|url=https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010002359|website=Louvre Collections|date=690 }}</ref>
File:Taharqa offering wine vases to Hemen-E 25276-IMG 0506-gradient.jpg|[[Taharqa]] offering wine jars to Falcon-god [[Hemen]];<ref name="Taharqa"/> 690–664 BC; bronze, greywacke, gold and wood; length: 26&nbsp;cm, height: 19.7&nbsp;cm, width: 10.3&nbsp;cm; [[Louvre]]
</gallery>

===Late Period (c. 664–332 BC)===
{{main|Late Period of ancient Egypt|Achaemenid Egypt}}
[[File:National Meusem Darafsh 6 (42).JPG|thumb|upright|[[Egyptian statue of Darius I|Egyptian statue of Achaemenid Emperor Darius I]], as Pharaoh of the [[Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt]];<ref>{{cite book |last1=Razmjou |first1=Shahrokh |title=Ars orientalis; the arts of Islam and the East |date=1954 |publisher=Freer Gallery of Art |pages=[https://archive.org/details/arsorient323320022003univ/page/n95/mode/2up 81]–101 |url=https://archive.org/details/arsorient323320022003univ/page/n95/mode/2up}}</ref> 522–486 BC; [[greywacke]]; height: 2.46 m;<ref>{{cite book |last1=Manley|first1=Bill|title=Egyptian Art|year=2017|publisher=Thames & Hudson|pages=280|isbn=978-0-500-20428-3}}</ref> [[National Museum of Iran]] ([[Teheran]])]]
In 525&nbsp;BC, the political state of Egypt was taken over by the Persians, almost a century and a half into Egypt's Late Period. By 404&nbsp;BC, the Persians were expelled from Egypt, starting a short period of independence. These 60 years of Egyptian rule were marked by an abundance of usurpers and short reigns. The Egyptians were then reoccupied by the Achaemenids until 332&nbsp;BC with the arrival of [[Alexander the Great]]. Sources state that the Egyptians were cheering when Alexander entered the capital since he drove out the immensely disliked Persians. The Late Period is marked with the death of Alexander the Great and the start of the [[Ptolemaic dynasty]].<ref name="LO">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/artofancientegyp00robi|title=The art of ancient Egypt|last=Gay.|first=Robins|date=1997|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=0674046609|location=Cambridge, Mass.}}</ref> Although this period marks political turbulence and immense change for Egypt, its art and culture continued to flourish.

This can be seen in Egyptian temples starting with the [[Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt|Thirtieth Dynasty]], the fifth dynasty in the Late Period, and extending into the Ptolemaic era.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} These temples ranged from the Delta to the island of [[Philae]].<ref name="LO"/> While Egypt underwent outside influences through trade and conquest by foreign states, these temples remained in the traditional Egyptian style with very little [[Hellenistic art|Hellenistic]] influence.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

Another relief originating from the Thirtieth Dynasty was the rounded modeling of the body and limbs,<ref name="LO"/> which gave the subjects a more fleshy or heavy effect. For example, for female figures, their breasts would swell and overlap the upper arm in painting. In more realistic portrayals, men would be fat or wrinkled.

Another type of art that became increasingly common during this period was the [[Horus|Horus stelae]].<ref name="LO"/> These originate from the late New Kingdom and intermediate period but were increasingly common during the fourth century to the Ptolemaic era. These statues would often depict a young Horus holding snakes and standing on some kind of dangerous beast. The depiction of Horus comes from the Egyptian myth where a young Horus is saved from a scorpion bite, resulting in his gaining power over all dangerous animals. These statues were used "to ward off attacks from harmful creatures, and to cure snake bites and scorpion stings".<ref name="LO"/>

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
File:Egyptian Man in a Persian Costume, ca. 343-332 B.C.E., 71.139.jpg|Egyptian man in a Persian costume, {{Circa|343}}–332 BC, accession number 71.139, [[Brooklyn Museum]].<ref name="Brooklyn">"The long skirt shown wrapped around this statue’s body and tucked in at the upper edge of the garment is typically Persian. The necklace, called a torque, is decorated with images of ibexes, symbols in ancient Persia of agility and sexual prowess. The depiction of this official in Persian dress may have been a demonstration of loyalty to the new rulers." {{cite web |title=Egyptian Man in a Persian Costume |url=https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/3807 |website=www.brooklynmuseum.org |publisher=Brooklyn Museum}}</ref>
Composite Papyrus Capital MET 10.177.2 EGDP018080.jpg|Composite papyrus capital; 380–343 BC; painted sandstone; height: 126&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
Magical stela or cippus of Horus MET DP112603.jpg|Magical stela or cippus of [[Horus]]; 332–280&nbsp;BC; chlorite schist; height: 20.5&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:HibisGate3Dareios1AmunRaKamutef.jpg|Relief showing [[Darius I]] offering lettuces to [[Amun]], in the [[Temple of Hibis]] ([[Kharga Oasis]], Egypt)
</gallery>

===Ptolemaic Period (305–30 BC)===
[[File:Cleopatra Isis Louvre E27113.jpg|thumb|upright|Stele; limestone; 52.4 × 28 × 4&nbsp;cm; [[Louvre]]. A votive inscription dedicated by a [[Greeks|Greek]] called Onnophris that depicts a male [[pharaoh]] presenting offerings to the goddess [[Isis]], but honours in its text a queen Cleopatra (probably [[Cleopatra&nbsp;VII]]).<ref group="note">It is disputed whether Cleopatra was deliberately depicted as a male or whether a stele made under her father with his portrait was later inscribed with an inscription for Cleopatra. On this and other uncertainties regarding this stele, see {{harvtxt|Pfeiffer|2015|pages=177–181}}.</ref>]]
{{main|Ptolemaic Kingdom}}
Discoveries made since the end of the 19th&nbsp;century surrounding the (now submerged) ancient Egyptian city of [[Heracleion]] at [[Alexandria]] include a 4th&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC, unusually sensual, detailed and feministic (as opposed to deified) depiction of [[Isis]], marking a combination of Egyptian and Hellenistic forms beginning around the time of Egypt's conquest by [[Alexander the Great]] in 332–331&nbsp;BC. However, this was atypical of Ptolemaic sculpture, which generally avoided mixing Egyptian styles with the [[Hellenistic art|Hellenistic style]] used in the court art of the [[Ptolemaic dynasty]],{{sfn|Smith|1991|pp=206, 208–209}} while temples in the rest of the country continued using late versions of traditional Egyptian formulae.{{sfn|Smith|1991|p=210}} Scholars have proposed an "Alexandrian style" in Hellenistic sculpture, but there is in fact little to connect it with Alexandria.{{sfn|Smith|1991|p=205}}

[[Marble]] was extensively used in court art, although it all had to be imported and use was made of various marble-saving techniques, such as using a number of pieces attached with [[stucco]]; a head might have the beard, the back of the head and hair in separate pieces.{{sfn|Smith|1991|p=206}} In contrast to the art of other [[Hellenistic kingdoms]], Ptolemaic royal portraits are generalized and idealized, with little concern for achieving an individual portrait, though coins allow some portrait sculpture to be identified as one of the fifteen King Ptolemys.{{sfn|Smith|1991|p=207}} Many later portraits have clearly had the face reworked to show a later king.{{sfn|Smith|1991|p=209}} One Egyptian trait was to give much greater prominence to the queens than other successor dynasties to Alexander, with the royal couple often shown as a pair. This predated the 2nd&nbsp;century, when a series of queens exercised real power.{{sfn|Smith|1991|p=208}}

In the 2nd&nbsp;century, Egyptian temple sculptures began to reuse court models in their faces, and sculptures of a priest often used a Hellenistic style to achieve individually distinctive portrait heads.{{sfn|Smith|1991|pp=208–209, 210}} Many small statuettes were produced, with the most common types being Alexander, a generalized "King Ptolemy", and a naked [[Aphrodite]]. Pottery figurines included grotesques and fashionable ladies of the [[Tanagra figurine]] style.{{sfn|Smith|1991|p=210}} Erotic groups featured absurdly large phalli. Some fittings for wooden interiors include very delicately patterned polychrome falcons in faience.

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
File:Ptolemy XII making offerings to Egyptian Gods, in the Temple of Hathor, Dendera, Egypt.jpg|[[Ptolemy XII]] making offerings to Egyptian Gods, in the Temple of Hathor, 54 BC, [[Dendera]], Egypt
Clevelandart 1914.666.a.jpg|Double-sided votive relief; c.&nbsp;305 BC; limestone; 8.3 × 6.5 × 1.4&nbsp;cm; [[Cleveland Museum of Art]] ([[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], US)
Raet-Tawy-E 12923-IMG 8086-black.jpg|Statue of the goddess [[Raet-Tawy]]; 332–30&nbsp;BC; limestone; 46 × 13.7 × 23.7&nbsp;cm; Louvre
Ibis Coffin, 305-30 B.C.E., 49.48.jpg|Ibis coffin; 305–30&nbsp;BC; wood, silver, gold, and rock crystal; 38.2 × 20.2 × 55.8&nbsp;cm; [[Brooklyn Museum]] (New York City)
Statue of a ptolemaic king-A 28-Louvre Museum (7463587350).jpg|Statue of a Ptolemaic king; 1st century BC; [[basalt]]; height: 82&nbsp;cm, width: 39.5&nbsp;cm; Louvre
</gallery>

===Roman Period (30 BC–619 AD)===
{{see also|Egypt (Roman province)}}
[[File:Marble_statue_of_Isis,_the_goddess_holds_a_situla_and_sistrum,_ritual_implements_used_in_her_worship,_from_117_until_138_AD,_found_at_Hadrian's_Villa_(Pantanello),_Palazzo_Nuovo,_Capitoline_Museums_(12945630725).jpg|alt=Marble staue of a woman holding a rattle in one hand and a pitcher in the other.|thumb|Roman statue of Isis, first or second century CE. She holds a [[sistrum]] and a pitcher of water, although these attributes were added in a seventeenth century renovation.{{sfn|Tiradritti|2005|pp=21, 212}}]]
[[File:Trajan on the Roman Mammisi at Dendera, Egypt.jpg|thumb|Roman Emperor [[Trajan]] (ruled 98–117 AD) making offerings to Egyptian Gods, on the Roman [[Mammisi]] at the [[Dendera Temple complex]], Egypt.<ref>{{cite book |quote=Trajan was, in fact, quite active in Egypt. Separate scenes of Domitian and Trajan making offerings to the gods appear on reliefs on the propylon of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera. There are cartouches of Domitian and Trajan on the column shafts of the Temple of Knum at Esna, and on the exterior a frieze text mentions Domitian, Trajan, and Hadrian |last1=Stadter |first1=Philip A. |last2=Van der Stockt |first2=L. |title=Sage and Emperor: Plutarch, Greek Intellectuals, and Roman Power in the Time of Trajan (98–117 A.D.) |date=2002 |publisher=Leuven University Press |isbn=978-90-5867-239-1 |page=75 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jJjiYdxHmPMC&pg=PA75}}</ref>]]The [[Fayum mummy portraits]] are probably the most famous example of Egyptian art during the Roman period of Egypt. They were a type of naturalistic painted [[portrait]] on wooden boards attached to [[Upper Class|upper class]] [[mummy|mummies]] from [[Roman Egypt]]. They belong to the tradition of [[panel painting]], one of the most highly regarded forms of art in the [[Classical antiquity|Classical world]]. The Fayum portraits are the only large body of art from that tradition to have survived.

Mummy portraits have been found across [[Egypt]], but are most common in the [[Faiyum Oasis|Faiyum Basin]], particularly from [[Hawara]] (hence the common name) and the [[Hadrian]]ic [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] city [[Antinoopolis]]. "Faiyum portraits" is generally used as a stylistic, rather than a geographic, description. While painted [[cartonnage]] mummy cases date back to pharaonic times, the Faiyum mummy portraits were an innovation dating to the time of the [[Roman Empire|Roman occupation of Egypt]].<ref>Berman, Lawrence, Freed, Rita E., and Doxey, Denise. <cite>Arts of Ancient Egypt</cite>. p. 193. Museum of Fine Arts Boston. 2003. {{ISBN|0-87846-661-4}}</ref>

The portraits date to the [[Roman Empire|Imperial Roman era]], from the late 1st century BC or the early 1st century AD onwards. It is not clear when their production ended, but recent research suggests the middle of the 3rd century. They are among the largest groups among the very few survivors of the [[panel painting]] tradition of the classical world, which was continued into [[Byzantine art|Byzantine]] and Western traditions in the post-classical world, including the local tradition of [[Coptic art|Coptic iconography]] in Egypt.

<gallery widths="170" heights="170">
File:Fayum-22.jpg|The [[Fayum mummy portraits]] epitomize the meeting of Egyptian and Roman cultures.
File:Mummy Mask of a Man, early 1st century C.E.,72.57.jpg|Mummy mask of a man; early 1st century AD; stucco, gilded and painted; 51.5 x 33 x 20&nbsp;cm; [[Brooklyn Museum]] (New York City)
File:Portrait of a young woman in red MET 09.181.6 EGDP011294.jpg|Portrait of a young woman in red; c.&nbsp;90–120&nbsp;; [[encaustic painting]] on limewood with [[gold leaf]]; height: {{convert|38|cm|in|abbr=on}}; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
File:Anubis, Anzio, Villa Pamphili, 1st-2nd century AD, Pario marble - Museo Gregoriano Egizio - Vatican Museums - DSC00818.jpg|Statue of Anubis; 100–138; marble; height: 1.5 m, width: 50&nbsp;cm; from [[Tivoli, Lazio|Tivoli]] ([[Rome]]); [[Vatican Museums]] ([[Vatican City]])<ref>{{cite book|last1=Campbell|first1=Price|title=Ancient Egypt - Pocket Museum|date=2018|publisher=Thames & Hudson|page=266|isbn=978-0-500-51984-4}}</ref>
File:Horus as Emperor-AE E 7977-IMG 4864-cropped.jpg|[[Horus]] as emperor; 2nd century; bronze; height: 26.5&nbsp;cm; [[Louvre]]
File:Egyptian - Mummy Portrait of a Man - Walters 323.jpg|Mummy portrait of a man; late 1st century; encaustic painting on wood; [[Walters Art Museum]] ([[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]], US)
File:Isis suckling her baby Horus from Mata´na el-Asfun 09.jpg|Isis suckling her baby Horus (of whom only the left leg is preserved); 1st century AD; siltstone (basis: limestone); height: 33.9&nbsp;cm; from [[Mata´na el-Asfu]]; [[Staatliche Sammlung für Ägyptische Kunst]] ([[Munich]], Germany)
</gallery>

==Characteristics==
Egyptian art is known for its distinctive figure convention used for the main figures in both [[relief]] and painting, with parted legs (where not seated) and head shown as seen from the side, but the torso seen as from the front. The figures also have a standard set of proportions, measuring 18 "fists" from the ground to the hair-line on the forehead.{{sfn|Smith|Simpson|1998|p=33}} This appears as early as the [[Narmer Palette]] from Dynasty&nbsp;I, but this idealized figure convention is not employed in the use of displaying minor figures shown engaged in some activity, such as captives and corpses.{{sfn|Smith|Simpson|1998|pp=12–13 and note 17}} Other conventions make statues of males darker than those of females. Very conventionalized portrait statues appear from as early as the Second Dynasty (before 2,780&nbsp;BC),{{sfn|Smith|Simpson|1998|pp=21–24}} and with the exception of the [[Amarna art|art of the Amarna period]] of [[Ahkenaten]]{{sfn|Smith|Simpson|1998|pp=170–178, 192–194}} and some other periods such as the Twelfth Dynasty, the idealized features of rulers, like other Egyptian artistic conventions, changed little until the Greek conquest.{{sfn|Smith|Simpson|1998|pp=102–103, 133–134}} Egyptian art uses [[hierarchical proportion]]s, where the size of figures indicates their relative importance. The gods or the divine [[pharaoh]] are usually larger than other figures while the figures of high officials or the tomb owner are usually smaller, and at the smallest scale are any servants, entertainers, animals, trees, and architectural details.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Art of Ancient Egypt. A resource for educators. |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/~/media/Files/Learn/For%20Educators/Publications%20for%20Educators/The%20Art%20of%20Ancient%20Egypt.pdf |access-date=July 7, 2013 |publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |location=New York |page=44 }}</ref>

===Anonymity===
[[File:Craftsmen, Tomb of Nebamun and Ipuky MET DT10888.jpg|thumb|right|upright=2|Depiction of craftworkers in ancient Egypt]]
Ancient Egyptian artists rarely left their names. The Egyptian artwork is anonymous also because most of the time it was collective. [[Diodorus Siculus|Diodorus of Sicily]], who traveled and lived in Egypt, has written: "So, after the craftsmen have decided the height of the statue, they all go home to make the parts which they have chosen" (I, 98).<ref>{{cite book |author=Constantin Daniel | title=Arta Egipteană și Civilizațiile Mediteraneene | location=Bucharest | publisher=Editura Meridiane | year=1980 |page=54|language=ro}}</ref>

===Symbolism===
Symbolism pervaded Egyptian art and played an important role in establishing a sense of order. The pharaoh's regalia, for example, represented his power to maintain order. Animals were also highly symbolic figures in Egyptian art. Some colors were expressive.<ref name=":1">Historical Atlas of Ancient Egypt, Bill Manley (1996) p. 83</ref>

The [[ancient Egyptian language]] had four basic color terms: ''kem'' (black), ''hedj'' (white/silver), ''wadj'' (green/blue) and ''desher'' (red/orange/yellow). Blue, for example, symbolized fertility, birth, and the life-giving waters of the Nile.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/999/color-in-ancient-egypt/|title=Color in Ancient Egypt|encyclopedia=[[World History Encyclopedia]]|access-date=2018-10-04}}</ref>{{failed verification|reason="irtiu" and "khesbedj" are listed as terms for "bkue, "wadj" as a term for green|date=August 2020}} Blue and green were the colors of vegetation, and hence of rejuvenation. [[Osiris]] could be shown with green skin; in the [[26th&nbsp;Dynasty]], the faces of coffins were often colored green to assist in rebirth.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|p=55}}

This color symbolism explains the popularity of [[turquoise]] and [[faience]] in funerary equipment. The use of black for royal figures similarly expressed the fertile alluvial soil<ref name=":1"/> of the Nile from which Egypt was born, and carried connotations of fertility and regeneration. Hence statues of the king as [[Osiris]] often showed him with black skin. Black was also associated with the afterlife, and was the color of funerary deities such as [[Anubis]].

Gold indicated divinity due to its unnatural appearance and association with precious materials.<ref name=":1"/> Furthermore, gold was regarded by the ancient Egyptians as "the flesh of the god".<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=The Collector's Eye: Masterpieces of Egyptian Art from the Thalassic Collection, Ltd.|last1=Lacovara|first1=Peter|last2=Markowitz|first2=Yvonne J.|publisher=Michael C. Carlos Museum|year=2001|location=Atlanta|pages=XXIII–XXVIII|chapter=Materials and Techniques in Egyptian Art}}</ref> Silver, referred to as "white gold" by the Egyptians, was likewise called "the bones of the god".<ref name=":2"/>

Red, orange and yellow were ambivalent colors. They were, naturally, associated with the sun; red stones such as [[quartzite]] were favored for royal statues which stressed the solar aspects of kingship. [[Carnelian]] has similar symbolic associations in jewelry. Red ink was used to write important names on [[papyrus]] documents. Red was also the color of the deserts, and hence associated with [[Set (deity)|Set]].

==Materials==
===Faience===
{{Main|Egyptian faience}}
Egyptian faience is a ceramic material, made of quartz sand (or crushed quartz), small amounts of lime, and plant ash or natron. The ingredients were mixed together, glazed and fired to a hard shiny finish. Faience was widely used from the Predynastic Period until Islamic times for inlays and small objects, especially [[ushabti]]s. More accurately termed 'glazed composition', Egyptian faience was so named by early Egyptologists after its superficial resemblance to the tin-glazed earthenwares of medieval Italy (originally produced at [[Faenza]]). The Egyptian word for it was ''tjehenet'', which means 'dazzling', and it was probably used, above all, as a cheap substitute for more precious materials like [[turquoise]] and [[lapis lazuli]]. Indeed, faience was most commonly produced in shades of blue-green, although a large range of colours was possible.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|p=78}}

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Standing Hippopotamus MET DP248993.jpg|''[[William the Faience Hippopotamus]]''; 1961–1878&nbsp;BC; faience; 11.2 × 7.5&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)

Funerary servant Sethi I-N 472-IMG 0399 0400-gradient.jpg|[[Ushabti]]; 1294–1279 BC; faience; height: 28.1&nbsp;cm, width: 9.2&nbsp;cm; [[Louvre]]

Statuette of Isis and Horus MET DP241036.jpg|Statuette of [[Isis]] and [[Horus]]; 332–30 BC; faience; height: 17&nbsp;cm, width: 5.1&nbsp;cm, depth: 7.7&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bowl MET DP243440 (cropped).jpg|Bowl; 200–150&nbsp;BC; faience; 4.8 × 16.9&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
</gallery>

===Glass===
Although the glassy materials faience and [[Egyptian blue]] were manufactured in Egypt from an early period, the technology for making glass itself was only perfected in the early [[18th Dynasty of Egypt|18th Dynasty]]. It was probably imported from [[Levant]], since the Egyptian words for glass are of foreign origin. The funerary objects of [[Amenhotep II]] included many glass artefacts, demonstrating a range of different techniques. At this period, the material was costly and rare, and may have been a royal monopoly. However, by the end of the 18th Dynasty, Egypt probably made sufficient quantities to export glass to other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. Glass workshops have been excavated at [[Amarna]] and [[Pi-Ramesses]]. The raw materials – [[silica]], [[alkali]] and lime – were readily available in Egypt, although ready-made ingots of blue glass were also imported from the Levant and have been found in the cargo of the Uluburun shipwreck off the southern coast of [[Turkey]].{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|p=92}}

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Egyptian - Kohl Vase in the Shape of a Palm Column - Walters 4745 - Profile.jpg|Kohl vase in the shape of a palm [[column]]; 1550–1086 BC; glass; height: 8.9&nbsp;cm; [[Walters Art Museum]] ([[Baltimore]], US)

Bottle MET EG140.jpg|Bottle; 1353–1336 BC; glass; height: 8.1&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)

Bottle MET 44.4.49 EGDP015822 (cropped).jpg|Bottle; 1295–1070&nbsp;BC; glass; height: {{convert|10|cm|in|abbr=on}}; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Small vessel (Amphoriskos) MET 30.8.174 EGDP018983 (cropped).jpg|Small [[amphoriskos]]; 664–332&nbsp;BC; glass; height: {{convert|7|cm|in|abbr=on}}; Metropolitan Museum of Art
</gallery>

===Egyptian blue===
{{main|Egyptian blue}}
Egyptian blue is a material related to, but distinct from, faience and glass. Also called "frit", Egyptian blue was made from [[quartz]], [[alkali]], lime and one or more coloring agents (usually [[Cuprous|copper compounds]]). These were heated together until they fused to become a crystalline mass of uniform color (unlike faience in which the core and the surface layer are of different colors). Egyptian blue could be worked by hand or pressed into molds, to make statuettes and other small objects. It could also be ground to produce pigment. It is first attested in the [[Fourth Dynasty of Egypt|Fourth Dynasty]], but became particularly popular in the [[Ptolemaic period]] and the [[Egypt (Roman province)|Roman period]], when it was known as ''caeruleum''.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|pp=73 & 74}}

The color blue was used only sparingly even up until as late as Dynasty IV, where the color was found adorning mat-patterns in the Tomb of Saccara, which was constructed during the first Dynasty. Until this discovery was made, the color blue had not been known in Egyptian art.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Smith|first=William|title=The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt (The Yale University Press Pelican History of Art)|publisher=Yale University Press|year=1999|location=Yale|pages=23–24}}</ref>

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Egyptian blue.jpg|Powder of Egyptian blue

Egyptian - Amphora with Cover - Walters 471 - View B.jpg|Amphora, an example of so-called "Egyptian blue" ceramic ware; 1380–1300&nbsp;BC; height: {{convert|12.6|cm|in|abbr=on}}; [[Walters Art Museum]] ([[Baltimore]], US)
</gallery>

===Metals===
While not a leading center of metallurgy, ancient Egypt nevertheless developed technologies for extracting and processing the metals found within its borders and in neighbouring lands.

Copper was the first metal to be exploited in Egypt. Small beads have been found in [[Badarian culture|Badarian]] graves; larger items were produced in the later [[Prehistoric Egypt|Predynastic Period]], by a combination of mould-casting, annealing and cold-hammering. The production of copper artifacts peaked in the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt|Old Kingdom]] when huge numbers of copper chisels were manufactured to cut the stone blocks of pyramids. The copper statues of [[Pepi I]] and [[Merenre Nemtyemsaf I|Merenre]] from [[Hierakonpolis]] are rare survivors of large-scale metalworking.

The golden treasure of [[Tutankhamun]] has come to symbolize the wealth of [[ancient Egypt]], and illustrates the importance of gold in pharaonic culture. The burial chamber in a royal tomb was called "the house of gold". According to the Egyptian religion, the flesh of the gods was made of gold. A shining metal that never tarnished, it was the ideal material for cult images of deities, for royal funerary equipment, and to add brilliance to the tops of [[obelisks]]. It was used extensively for jewelry, and was distributed to officials as a reward for loyal services ("the gold of honour").

Silver had to be imported from the [[Levant]], and its rarity initially gave it greater value than gold (which, like [[electrum]], was readily available within the borders of Egypt and Nubia). Early examples of silverwork include the bracelets of the [[Hetepheres]]. By the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]], silver seems to have become less valuable than gold, perhaps because of increased trade with the Middle East. The treasure from [[El-Tod]] consisted of a hoard of silver objects, probably made in the Aegean, while silver jewelry made for female members of the [[Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt|12th&nbsp;Dynasty]] royal family was found at [[Dahshur]] and [[Lahun]]. In the Egyptian religion, the bones of the gods were said to be made of silver.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|pp=153 & 154}}

Iron was the last metal to be exploited on a large scale by the Egyptians. Meteoritic iron was used for the manufacture of beads from the Badarian period. However, the advanced technology required to smelt iron was not introduced into Egypt until the Late Period. Before that, iron objects were imported and were consequently highly valued for their rarity. The [[Amarna letters]] refer to diplomatic gifts of iron being sent by Near Eastern rulers, especially the [[Hittites]], to [[Amenhotep III]] and [[Akhenaten]]. Iron tools and weapons only became common in Egypt in the [[Egypt (Roman province)|Roman Period]].

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Amón--Ra (46548071712).jpg|[[Amun]]-Ra figurine; 1069–664 BC; silver and gold; 24 × 6 × 8.5&nbsp;cm, 0.7&nbsp;kg; [[British Museum]] (London)

Statuette of Amun MET DT553.jpg|Statuette of [[Amun]]; 945–715&nbsp;BC; gold; 17.5 × 4.7&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)

Horus as falcon god with Egyptian crown from the 27th dynasty (05).jpg|Figurine of [[Horus]] as falcon god with an Egyptian crown; circa 500 BC; silver and [[electrum]]; height: 26.9&nbsp;cm; [[Staatliche Sammlung für Ägyptische Kunst]] ([[Munich]], Germany)

Egypt, Greco-Roman Period, probably Ptolemaic Dynasty - Statuette of Isis and Horus - 1940.613 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif|Statuette of Isis and Horus; 305–30&nbsp;BC; solid cast of bronze; 4.8 × 10.3&nbsp;cm; [[Cleveland Museum of Art]] ([[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], US)
</gallery>

===Wood===
Because of its relatively poor survival in archaeological contexts, wood is not particularly well represented among artifacts from Ancient Egypt. Nevertheless, woodworking was evidently carried out to a high standard from an early period. Native trees included [[date palm]] and [[Hyphaene thebaica|dom palm]], the trunks of which could be used as joists in buildings, or split to produce planks. [[Tamarisk]], [[acacia]] and [[sycamore]] fig were employed in furniture manufacture, while ash was used when greater flexibility was required (for example in the manufacture of bowls). However, all these native timbers were of relatively poor quality; finer varieties had to be imported, especially from the [[Levant]].{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|p=263}}

<gallery widths="160px" heights="170px">
File:Model of a procession of offering bearers MET DT224780.jpg|Model of a procession of offering bearers. [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)

Estate Figure MET DP249002.jpg|Figurine of a female servant carrying provisions; 1981–1975&nbsp;BC; painted wood and gesso; 112 × 17&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)

Model Sailboat MET 20.3.4 EGDP011917.jpg|Model of a sailboat; 1981–1975&nbsp;BC; painted wood, plaster, linen twine and linen fabric; length: 145&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Duck-shaped box N1740 mg 8649-mg 8650.jpg|Duck-shaped box; 16th–11th&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC; wood and ivory; [[Louvre]]

Mourning Isis Hildesheim.jpg|Figurine of [[Isis]]; [[Ptolemaic dynasty]]; painted wood and [[stucco]]; height: 40.5&nbsp;cm; [[Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim]] ([[Hildesheim]], Germany)
</gallery>

===Lapis lazuli===
{{see also|Lapis lazuli}}
[[Lapis lazuli]] is a dark blue semi-precious stone highly valued by the ancient Egyptians because of its symbolic association with the heavens. It was imported via long-distance trade routes from the mountains of north-eastern [[Afghanistan]], and was considered superior to all other materials except gold and silver. Coloured glass or faience provided a cheap imitation. Lapis lazuli is first attested in the [[Prehistoric Egypt|Predynastic Period]]. A temporary interruption in supply during the [[Second Dynasty of Egypt|Second]] and [[Third Dynasty of Egypt|Third Dynasties]] probably reflects political changes in the [[ancient Near East]]. Thereafter, it was used extensively for jewelry, small figurines and amulets.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|pp=134 & 135}}

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Scarab Finger Ring MET 26.7.755 top.jpg|Scarab finger ring; 1850–1750&nbsp;BC; diameter: 2.5&nbsp;cm, the scarab: 1.8&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)

Cult Image of the God Ptah MET DP142956.jpg|Cult image of [[Ptah]]; 945–600&nbsp;BC; height of the figure: 5.2&nbsp;cm, height of the dais: 0.4&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Falcon amulet MET 26.7.895 view 2.jpg|Falcom amulet; 664–332&nbsp;BC; height: 2.2&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Chld god (Harpokrates?) amulet MET LC-49 121 2 EGDP023585.jpg|Child god (Harpokrates?) amulet; 664–30 BC; height: 4.3&nbsp;cm, width: 1.2&nbsp;cm, depth: 1.6&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
</gallery>

===Other materials===
* [[Jasper]] is an impure form of [[chalcedony]] with bands or patches of red, green or yellow. Red jasper, symbol of life and of positive aspects of the universe, was used above all to make amulets. It was ideal for certain amulets, such as the ''tit'' amulet, or ''[[tyet]]'' (also known as ''knot of [[Isis]]''), to be made of red jasper, as specified in Spell&nbsp;156 of the ''[[Book of the Dead]]''. The more rarely used green jasper was especially indicated for making [[scarab (artifact)|scarabs]], particularly heart scarabs.
* [[Serpentine subgroup|Serpentine]] is the generic term for the hydrated silicates of magnesium. It came mostly from the eastern desert, and occurs in many shades of color, from a pale green to a dark verging on black. Used from the earliest times, it was sought specially for making heart scarabs.
* [[Steatite]] (also known as soapstone) is a mineral of the chlorite family; it has the great advantage of being very easy to work. Steatite amulets are found in contexts from the [[Predynastic Period]] on, although in subsequent periods it was usually covered in a fine layer of faience and was used in the manufacture of numerous scarabs.
* [[Turquoise]] is an opaque stone, sky blue to blue-green. It is a natural aluminium phosphate colored blue by traces of [[copper]]. Closely linked to the goddess [[Hathor]], it was extracted mainly from mines in [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]] (at [[Serabit el-Khadim]]). The Egyptians were particularly fond of the greenish shades, symbolic of dynamism and vital renewal. In the [[Late Period of Egypt|Late Period]], turquoise (like lapis lazuli) was synonymous with joy and delight.

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Clevelandart 1989.39.jpg|Pendant; circa 1069 BC; gold and turquoise; overall: 5.1 x 2.3&nbsp;cm; [[Cleveland Museum of Art]] ([[Cleveland]], USA)

Heart Scarab of Hatnefer MET eg36.3.2.R.jpg|Heart scarab of Hatnefer; 1492–1473&nbsp;BC; serpentine (the scarab) and gold; 5.3 × 2.8&nbsp;cm; chain: 77.5&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Head from a Spoon in the form of a Swimming Girl MET 11.215.533 front v2 (cropped).jpg|Head from a spoon in the form of a swimming girl; 1390–1353&nbsp;BC; [[travertine]] (the head) and steatite (the hair); 2.8 × 2.7&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Cynocephalus Amulet MET LC-10 130 1933 EGDP025839.jpg|Amulet; 1295–1070&nbsp;BC; red jasper; 2.3 × 1.2&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
</gallery>

==Sculpture==
[[File:King Menkaura (Mycerinus) and queen.jpg|thumb|Pharaoh [[Menkaura]] and queen Khamerernebty II; 2490–2472&nbsp;BC; [[greywacke]]; overall: {{convert|142.2|×|57.1|×|55.2|cm|in|abbr=on}}; [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]] (US)]]
The [[monumental sculpture]] of [[ancient Egypt]]'s temples and tombs is well known,{{sfn|Smith|Simpson|1998|p=2}} but refined and delicate small works exist in much greater numbers. The Egyptians used the technique of [[sunk relief]], which is best viewed in sunlight for the outlines and forms to be emphasized by shadows. The distinctive pose of standing statues facing forward with one foot in front of the other was helpful for the balance and strength of the piece. This singular pose was used early in the history of Egyptian art and well into the Ptolemaic period, although seated statues were common as well.

Egyptian [[pharaohs]] were always regarded as gods, but other deities are much less common in large statues, except when they represent the pharaoh {{em|as}} another deity; however, the other deities are frequently shown in paintings and reliefs. The famous row of four colossal statues outside the [[Abu Simbel temples|main temple at Abu Simbel]] each show [[Rameses&nbsp;II]], a typical scheme, though here exceptionally large.{{sfn|Smith|Simpson|1998|pp=4–5, 208–209}} Most larger sculptures survived from [[Egyptian temple]]s or tombs; massive statues were built to represent gods and pharaohs and their queens, usually for open areas in or outside temples. The very early colossal [[Great Sphinx of Giza]] was never repeated, but avenues lined with very large statues including [[sphinx]]es and other animals formed part of many temple complexes. The most sacred cult image of a god in a temple, usually held in the [[Naos (hieroglyph)|naos]], was in the form of a relatively small boat or [[barque]] holding an image of the god, and apparently usually in precious metal – none of these are known to have survived.

By Dynasty IV (2680–2565&nbsp;BC), the idea of the [[Ka statue]] was firmly established. These were put in tombs as a resting place for the [[Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul|''ka'' portion of the soul]], and so there is a good number of less conventionalized statues of well-off administrators and their wives, many in wood as Egypt is one of the few places in the world where the climate allows wood to survive over millennia, and many [[block statue]]s. The so-called [[reserve head]]s, plain hairless heads, are especially naturalistic, though the extent to which there was real [[portraiture in ancient Egypt]] is still debated.

Early tombs also contained small models of the slaves, animals, buildings and objects such as boats (and later ''[[ushabti]]'' figures) necessary for the deceased to continue his lifestyle in the afterlife.{{sfn|Smith|Simpson|1998|pp=89–90}} However, the great majority of wooden sculpture have been lost to decay, or probably used as fuel. Small figures of deities, or their animal personifications, are very common, and found in popular materials such as pottery. There were also large numbers of small carved objects, from figures of the gods to toys and carved utensils. [[Alabaster]] was used for expensive versions of these, though painted wood was the most common material, and was normal for the small models of animals, slaves and possessions placed in tombs to provide for the afterlife.

Very strict conventions were followed while crafting statues, and specific rules governed the appearance of every Egyptian god. For example, the sky god ([[Horus]]) was to be represented with a falcon's head, the god of funeral rites ([[Anubis]]) was to be shown with a jackal's head. Artistic works were ranked according to their compliance with these conventions, and the conventions were followed so strictly that, over three thousand years, the appearance of statues changed very little. These conventions were intended to convey the timeless and non-ageing quality of the figure's ''ka''.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}

A common relief in ancient Egyptian sculpture was the difference between the representation of men and women. Women were often represented in an idealistic form, young and pretty, and rarely shown in an older maturity. Men were shown in either an idealistic manner or a more realistic depiction.<ref name=":0"/> Sculptures of men often showed men that aged, since the regeneration of ageing was a positive thing for them whereas women are shown as perpetually young.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sweeney|first=Deborah|date=2004|title=Forever Young? The Representation of Older and Ageing Women in Ancient Egyptian Art|jstor=20297188|journal=Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt|volume=41|pages=67–84|doi=10.2307/20297188}}</ref>

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Narmer Palette.jpg|Both sides of the [[Narmer Palette]]; c.&nbsp;3100&nbsp;BC; [[greywacke]]; height: 63&nbsp;cm; from [[Hierakonpolis]] (Egypt); [[Egyptian Museum]] ([[Cairo]]). <!--The Narmer palette is the quintessential statement of the Egyptians' mythology of kingship. A clear manifesto of royal power, it is also one with multiple layers of symbolism.--> This very old palette shows the canonical Egyptian profile view and proportions of the figure

The seated scribe-E 3023-IMG 4267-gradient-contrast.jpg|''[[The Seated Scribe]]''; 2613–2494&nbsp;BC; painted limestone and inlaid [[quartz]]; height: 53.7&nbsp;cm; [[Louvre]]

Portrait statue of Henka - administrator of the two pyramids of pharaoh Snofru 03.jpg|Portrait statue of Henka, administrator of the two pyramids of pharaoh [[Snofru]]; 2500–2350 BC; limestone; height: 40&nbsp;cm; [[Egyptian Museum of Berlin]] (Germany)

Ka Statue of horawibra.jpg|The ''[[Ka statue of king Hor|Ka statue of Awibre Hor]]'', which provided a physical place for the ''ka'' to manifest; c.&nbsp;1700&nbsp;BC; wood, rock crystal, [[quartz]], [[plaster]], traces of gold; height: 1.7&nbsp;m; from [[Dahshur]]; Egyptian Museum (Cairo)

Kneeling portrait statue of Amenemhat holding a stele with an inscription 01.jpg|Kneeling portrait statue of Amenemhat holding a stele with an inscription; circa 1500 BC; limestone; Egyptian Museum of Berlin

Portrait head of pharaoh Hatshepsut or Thutmose III 01.jpg|Portrait head of pharaoh [[Hatshepsut]] or [[Thutmose III]]; 1480–1425 BC; most probably [[granite]]; height: 16.5&nbsp;cm; Egyptian Museum of Berlin

Luxor Museum Amenophis III. Statue 05.jpg|[[Amenhotep III]]; 1390–1352 BC; quartzite; height: 2.49 m; [[Luxor Museum]] ([[Luxor]], Egypt)<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fortenberry|first1=Diane|title=THE ART MUSEUM|date=2017|publisher=Phaidon|isbn=978-0-7148-7502-6|page=15}}</ref>

Portrait statuette of Taitai.jpg|Portrait statuette of Taitai; 1380–1300 BC; [[greywacke]]; height: height: 27.5&nbsp;cm; Egyptian Museum of Berlin

Tutankhamun jackal.jpg|The ''[[Anubis Shrine]]''; 1336–1327&nbsp;BC; painted wood and gold; 1.1 × 2.7 × 0.52&nbsp;m; from the [[Valley of the Kings]]; Egyptian Museum (Cairo)

Egypte louvre 066.jpg|[[Osiris]] on a [[lapis lazuli]] pillar in the middle, flanked by [[Horus]] on the left, and [[Isis]] on the right; 875–850&nbsp;BC; gold and [[lapis lazuli]]; 9&nbsp;cm; Louvre

Four cats-N3910-P5260390-gradient.jpg|Four cats; 664–332 BC; wood; height: 14&nbsp;cm, width: 27&nbsp;cm; Louvre

Statuette of Anubis MET 38.5 EGDP022863.jpg|Statuette of [[Anubis]]; 332–30&nbsp;BC; plastered and painted wood; 42.3&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
</gallery>

===Stele===
{{main|Stele}}
[[File:Princess Nefertiabet before her meal-E 15591-IMG 9645-gradient.jpg|thumb|200px|Stele of Princess [[Nefertiabet]] eating; 2589–2566&nbsp;BC; limestone & paint; 37.7 × 52.5 × 8.3&nbsp;cm; from [[Giza]]; [[Louvre]]]]

A stele is an upright tablet of stone or wood, often with a curved top, painted and carved with text and pictures. Numerous examples were produced throughout Egyptian history for a variety of purposes, including funerary, votive and commemorative. Funerary stelae, attested from the early [[First Dynasty of Egypt|1st&nbsp;Dynasty]], typically bore the name and titles of the deceased. This basic form, which served to identify the tomb owner, evolved into a key component of the funerary equipment with a magical function. Hence, from the [[Second Dynasty of Egypt|2nd&nbsp;Dynasty]] onward, the owner was usually shown seated before an offering table piled with food and drink; in the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]], the offering formula was generally inscribed along the top of the stele. Both were designed to ensure a perpetual supply of offerings in the afterlife. Votive stelae, inscribed with prayers to deities, were dedicated by worshipers seeking a favorable outcome to a particular situation. In the Middle Kingdom, many hundreds were set up by pilgrims on the "terrace of the great god" at [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]], so that they might participate in the annual procession of [[Osiris]]. One particular variety of votive stele common in the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] was the ear stele, inscribed with images of human ears to encourage the deity to listen to the prayer or request.

Commemorative stelae were produced to proclaim notable achievements (for example, the stela of [[Horwerra]], recording a mining expedition to [[Serabit el-Khadim]], and the [[Restoration Stela]] of [[Tutankhamun]], celebrating the restoration of the traditional cults at the end of the [[Amarna period]]); to celebrate military victories (for instance, the [[Merneptah Stele]]); and to establish frontiers (for example the Semna stele of [[Senusret&nbsp;III]] and the boundary stelae around Amarna).{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|p=235}}

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Kamose Siegesstele Luxor Museum 02.jpg|Kamose stela; circa 1550 BC; limestone; height: 2.3 m, width: 1.1 m, depth: 28.5&nbsp;cm; from the [[Karnak]] Temple (Egypt); [[Luxor Museum]] ([[Luxor]], Egypt)<ref>{{cite book|last1=Campbell|first1=Price|title=Ancient Egypt - Pocket Museum|date=2018|publisher=Thames & Hudson|page=128|isbn=978-0-500-51984-4}}</ref>

Stele of the healing of Bakhtan-C 284-IMG 3868-gradient (cropped).jpg|The [[Bentresh stela]]; 1069–715 BC; [[sandstone]]; 227 x 106 x 14&nbsp;cm; [[Louvre]]

Стела начальника гончаров Пепи.jpg|Stela of [[Pepi I Meryre|Pepi]], chief of the potters; 8th&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC; painted limestone; [[Hermitage Museum|Hermitage]] ([[Sankt Petersburg]], Russia)

Egypt Stela of Nacht-Mahes-eru.jpg|Stela of Nacht-Mahes-eru; 664–610&nbsp;BC; polychromy on wood; 42 × 31.5 × 3.5&nbsp;cm; [[National Museum in Warsaw]] (Poland)
</gallery>

===Pyramidia===
{{main|Pyramidion}}
A pyramidion is a capstone at the top of a pyramid. Called benbenet in [[ancient Egyptian language]], it associated the pyramid as a whole with the sacred [[Benben#Benben stone|Benben stone]]. Pyramidia may have been covered in [[gold leaf]] to reflect the rays of the sun; in the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]], they were often inscribed with royal titles and religious symbols.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|p=197}}

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
PiramidiónDeAntef (46149630982).jpg|Fragment of a pyramidion; c.&nbsp;1600&nbsp;BC; from [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]]; [[British Museum]] (London)

Pyramidion from the pyramid of Nebamun 02.jpg|Pyramidion from the pyramid of [[Nebamun]]; circa 1380 BC; painted limestone; height: 23&nbsp;cm; [[Staatliche Sammlung für Ägyptische Kunst]] ([[Munich]], Germany)

Pyramidion from the tomb of Rer (7th century BCE).jpg|Pyramidion from the tomb of the priest Rer in Abydos, Egypt. [[Hermitage Museum]]

Pyramidion of Iufaa MET 21.2.66 01.jpg|Pyramidion of Iufaa; 664–525&nbsp;BC; painted limestone; height: 36&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
</gallery>

==Painting==
{{main|Painting in Ancient Egypt}}
{{wide image|Ocas de Meidum (completo en alta resolución).jpg|1000px|5=center|dir=center|alt=|The ''Meidum geese''; 2575–2551 BC; painted gypsum; 27 x 172 cm; [[Egyptian Museum]] ([[Cairo]])}}
Not all Egyptian [[relief]]s were painted, and less-prestigious works in tombs, temples and palaces were merely painted on a flat surface. Stone surfaces were prepared by whitewash, or if rough, a layer of coarse mud plaster, with a smoother ''[[gesso]]'' layer above; some finer [[limestone]]s could take paint directly. Pigments were mostly mineral, chosen to withstand strong sunlight without fading. The binding medium used in painting remains unclear: [[egg tempera]] and various gums and resins have been suggested. It is clear that true [[fresco]], painted into a thin layer of wet plaster, was not used. Instead, the paint was applied to dried plaster, in what is called ''fresco a secco'' in Italian. After painting, a varnish or resin was usually applied as a protective coating, and many paintings with some exposure to the elements have survived remarkably well, although those on fully exposed walls rarely have.<ref>Grove{{full citation needed|date=December 2020}}</ref> Small objects including wooden statuettes were often painted using similar techniques.

Many ancient Egyptian paintings have survived in tombs, and sometimes temples, due to Egypt's extremely dry climate. The paintings were often made with the intent of making a pleasant afterlife for the deceased. The themes included journeys through the afterworld or protective deities introducing the deceased to the gods of the underworld (such as [[Osiris]]). Some tomb paintings show activities that the deceased were involved in when they were alive and wished to carry on doing for eternity.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

From the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] period and afterwards, the ''[[Book of the Dead]]'' was buried with the entombed person. It was considered important for an introduction to the afterlife.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mark |first=Joshua J. |date=24 March 2016 |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Egyptian_Book_of_the_Dead/ |title=Egyptian Book of the Dead |website=[[World History Encyclopedia]] |access-date=2019-04-23}}</ref>

Egyptian paintings are painted in such a way to show a side view and a front view of the animal or person at the same time. For example, the painting to the right shows the head from a profile view and the body from a frontal view. Their main colors were red, blue, green, gold, black and yellow.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

Paintings showing scenes of hunting and fishing can have lively close-up landscape backgrounds of reeds and water, but in general Egyptian painting did not develop a sense of depth, and neither landscapes nor a sense of visual perspective are found, the figures rather varying in size with their importance rather than their location.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Block from a Relief Depicting a Battle MET 213 S3BR2 01GG.jpg|Block from a relief depicting a battle; 1427–1400&nbsp;BC; painted sandstone; height: {{convert|61.5|cm|in|abbr=on}}; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (US)

Tomb of Nebamun.jpg|Fresco which depicts [[Nebamun]] hunting birds; 1350&nbsp;BC; paint on [[plaster]]; 98 × {{convert|83|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} × 2&nbsp;ft 8.7&nbsp;in); [[British Museum]] (London)

Le Jardin de Nébamoun.jpg|Fresco which depicts the pool in Nebamun's estate garden; c.&nbsp;1350&nbsp;BC; painted [[plaster]]; height: 64&nbsp;cm; British Museum

QV66 Khepri Tomb of Nefertari entrance.jpg|Frescos in the [[QV66|Tomb of Nefertari]], in which appear [[Khepri]] sitting on a very colourful square-shaped throne

Opening of the Mouth - Tutankhamun and Aja.jpg|Wall painting from [[KV62|Tutankhamun's tomb]] depicting [[Ay (pharaoh)|Ay]] performing the Opening of the Mouth ceremony

Tutankhamun embraces Osiris.jpg|Scene from the tomb of Tutankhamun in which appears [[Osiris]]

Anubis attending the mummy of Sennedjem.jpg|Picture of the wall painting from the tomb of [[Sennedjem]] in which [[Anubis]] attends the mummy of the deceased

Book of the Dead of Hunefer sheet 3.jpg|The ''[[Book of the Dead]]'' of [[Hunefer]]; c.&nbsp;1275&nbsp;BC; ink and pigments on [[papyrus]]; 45 × 90.5&nbsp;cm; [[British Museum]] (London)
</gallery>

==Architecture==
{{main|Ancient Egyptian architecture}}
{{further||Egyptian pyramids|Egyptian temple}}
[[File:Medinet Habu 2016-03-23g.jpg|thumb|250px|Winged sun on a [[cavetto]] from the Medinet Habu temple complex. The winged sun represents a form of the falcon god [[Horus]], son of [[Isis]], triumphant over his enemies. The image was also a common protective device over temple entrances. Winged disks are a popular motif in [[Egyptian Revival architecture]] and [[Egyptian Revival decorative arts|art]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jones|first1=Denna|title=Architecture The Whole History|date=2014|publisher=Thames & Hudson|page=31|isbn=978-0-500-29148-1}}</ref>]]
Ancient Egyptian architects used sun-dried and kiln-baked bricks, fine sandstone, limestone and granite. Architects carefully planned all their work. The stones had to fit precisely together, since no mud or mortar was used. When creating the pyramids it is unknown how the workers or stones reached the top of them as no records were kept of their construction. When the top of the structure was completed, the artists decorated from the top down, removing ramp sand as they went down. Exterior walls of structures like the pyramids contained only a few small openings. Hieroglyphic and pictorial carvings in brilliant colors were abundantly used to decorate Egyptian structures, including many motifs, like the scarab, sacred beetle, the solar disk, and the vulture. They described the changes the Pharaoh would go through to become a god.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jenner|first1=Jan|title=Ancient Civilizations|date=2008|publisher=Scholastic|location=Toronto}}</ref>

As early as 2600 BC the architect Imhotep made use of stone columns whose surface was carved to reflect the organic form of bundled reeds, like papyrus, lotus and palm; in later Egyptian architecture faceted cylinders were also common. Their form is thought to derive from archaic reed-built shrines. Carved from stone, the columns were highly decorated with carved and painted hieroglyphs, texts, ritual imagery and natural motifs. One of the most important types are the papyriform columns. The origin of these columns goes back to the [[5th Dynasty]]. They are composed of lotus (papyrus) stems which are drawn together into a bundle decorated with bands: the capital, instead of opening out into the shape of a bellflower, swells out and then narrows again like a flower in bud. The base, which tapers to take the shape of a half-sphere like the stem of the lotus, has a continuously recurring decoration of stipules. At the [[Luxor Temple]], the columns are reminiscent of papyrus bundles, perhaps symbolic of the marsh from which the ancient Egyptians believed the creation of the world to have unfolded.

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Pair of Obelisks of Nebsen MET 58.107.1-.2-scan.jpg|Pair of [[obelisk]]s of Nebsen; 2323–2100 BC; limestone; (the one from left) height: 52.7&nbsp;cm, (the one from right) height: 51.1&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)

Model of a house MET DP341926.jpg|Model of a house; 1750–1700 BC; pottery; 27 x 27 x 17&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ceiling painting from the palace of Amenhotep III MET DT256117.jpg|Ceiling painting from the palace of [[Amenhotep III]]; circa 1390–1353 BC; dried mud, mud plaster and paint Gesso; 140 x 140&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Window grill from a palace of Ramesses III MET 14.6.232-dia1.jpg|Window grill from a palace of [[Ramesses III]]; 1184–1153 BC; painted sandstone; height: 103.5&nbsp;cm, width: 102.9&nbsp;cm, depth: 14.6&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Column with Hathor-emblem capital and names of Nectanebo I on the shaft MET Hathor column less texture.jpg|Column with Hathor-emblem capital and names of Nectanebo I on the shaft; 380–362 BC; limestone; height: 102&nbsp;cm, width: 34.3&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Temple of Dendur MET DT563.jpg|The [[Temple of Dendur]]; completed by 10 BC; aeolian sandstone; temple proper: height: 6.4 m, width: 6.4 m; length: 12.5 m; Metropolitan Museum of Art

All Gizah Pyramids.jpg|A view of the pyramids at Giza. From left to right, the three largest are: the [[Pyramid of Menkaure]], the [[Pyramid of Khafre]] and the [[Great Pyramid of Khufu]]

Philae temple at night.jpg|The well preserved Temple of Isis from [[Philae]] (Egypt) is an example of [[Ancient Egyptian architecture|Egyptian architecture]] and [[architectural sculpture]]

Abu Simbel Temple May 30 2007.jpg|The [[Abu Simbel temples#Great Temple|Great Temple of Ramesses II]] from [[Abu Simbel]], founded in circa 1264 BC, in the [[Aswan Governorate]] (Egypt)

Dendera Römisches Mammisi 19.JPG|Relief from the [[Dendera Temple complex]] (Egypt)

Lepsius-Projekt tw 1-2-108.jpg|Illustrations of various types of capitals, drawn by the Egyptologist [[Karl Richard Lepsius]]

Theben (Thebes). Memnonia (Ramesseum)- Säulen aus der Halle des Tempels Ramses II (NYPL b14291191-37596).jpg|Illustrations with two types of columns from the hall of the [[Ramses II]] Temple, drawn in 1849
</gallery>

==Jewelry==
{{see also|Pectoral (Ancient Egypt)|Usekh collar|Ancient Egyptian flint jewelry|Egyptian Finger and Toe stalls}}
{{multiple image|perrow = 3|total_width=220
| image1 = Bead in the Form of a Bunch of Grapes MET 11.215.303.jpg
| image2 = Bead in the Form of a Cornflower MET 11.215.267.jpg
| image3 = Bead in the Form of a daisy MET 11.215.239.jpg
| image4 = Bead in the Form of a Leaf MET 11.215.344.jpg
| image5 = Bead in the Form of a Bunch of Grapes MET 11.215.317.jpg
| image6 = Bead in the Form of a Lotus Petal MET 11.215.369.jpg
| image7 =
| image8 =
| image9 =
| footer = Various beads from the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
}}
The ancient Egyptians exhibited a love of ornament and personal decoration from earliest [[Prehistoric Egypt|Predynastic]] times. [[Badari culture|Badarian]] burials often contained strings of beads made from glazed [[steatite]], shell and [[ivory]]. Jewelry in gold, silver, copper and [[faience]] is also attested in the early [[Prehistoric Egypt|Predynastic period]]; more varied materials were introduced in the centuries preceding the [[First Dynasty of Egypt|1st&nbsp;Dynasty]]. By the [[Old Kingdom]], the combination of [[carnelian]], [[turquoise]] and [[lapis lazuli]] had been established for royal jewelry, and this was to become standard in the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]]. Less sophisticated pieces might use [[bone]], [[mother-of-pearl]] or [[cowrie shells]].

The particular choice of materials depended upon practical, aesthetical and symbolic considerations. Some types of jewelry remained perennially popular, while others went in and out of fashion. In the first category were bead necklaces, bracelets, armlets and girdles. Bead aprons are first attested in the 1st&nbsp;Dynasty, while [[Usekh collar|usekh broad collars]] became a standard type from the early [[Old Kingdom]]. In the Middle Kingdom, they had fallen from favor, to be replaced by finger-rings and ear ornaments (rings and plugs). [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] jewelry is generally more elaborate and garish than that of earlier periods, and was influenced by styles from the [[Ancient Greece]] and the [[Levant]]. Many fine examples were found in the tomb of [[Tutankhamun]]. Jewelry, both royal and private, was replete with religious symbolism. It was also used to display the wealth and rank of the wearer. Royal jewels were always the most elaborate, as exemplified by the pieces found at [[Dahshur]] and [[Lahun]], made for princesses of the [[18th Dynasty of Egypt|18th&nbsp;Dynasty]], favored courtiers were rewarded with the "gold of honor" as a sign of royal favor.

The techniques of jewelry-making can be reconstructed from surviving artifacts and from tomb decoration. A jeweler's workshop is shown in the tomb of [[Mereruka]]; several [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] tombs at [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]] contain similar scenes.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|pp=119 & 120}}

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Broad Collar of Wah MET DP307898.jpg|Broad collar of Wah; 1981–1975 BC; faience and linen thread; height: 34.5&nbsp;cm, width: 39&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)

Pectoral and Necklace of Sithathoryunet with the Name of Senwosret II MET DT531.jpg|Pectoral and necklace of Princess [[Sithathoriunet]]; 1887–1813&nbsp;BC; gold, [[carnelian]], [[lapis lazuli]], [[turquoise]], [[garnet]] & [[feldspar]]; height of the pectoral: 4.5&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Broad collar of Senebtisi MET DP330254.jpg|Broad collar of Senebtisi; 1850–1775 BC; faience, gold, carnelian and turquoise; outside diameter: 25&nbsp;cm, maxim width: 7.5&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tutankhamun pendant with Wadjet.jpg|Pectoral (chest jewellery) of [[Tutankhamun]]; 1336–1327&nbsp;BC (Reign of Tutankhamun); gold, silver and meteoric glass; height: 14.9&nbsp;cm; [[Egyptian Museum]] (Cairo)

Paris - Toutânkhamon, le Trésor du Pharaon - Pendentif au faucon portant le disque solaire - 001-gradient.jpg|Pectoral of Horus with sundisk; circa 1325 BC; gold with gemstones; width: 12.6&nbsp;cm; Egyptian Museum (Cairo)

Anillo de Sheshonq (46627183381).jpg|Signet ring; 664–525&nbsp;BC; gold; diameter 3&nbsp;cm, length: 3.4&nbsp;cm (bezel); [[British Museum]] (London)

Aethiopen. Begerauîeh (Begrawiya). Pyramidengruppe A. Pyr. 15. Gold- und Silber- Schmuck aufgefunden von Ferlini 1830. ( jetzt im K. Museum zu Berlin.) (NYPL b14291191-44190).jpg<!-- Do NOT change the spelling of the image file! -->|1849 illustrations of the Ferlini Treasures, discovered in 1830 by the Italian explorer, [[Giuseppe Ferlini]]; in the [[New York Public Library]]

Tresor-dahchour-sesostris3-4.jpg|Illustration of jewelry from the tomb of princess [[Merit (wife of Maya)|Merit]]
</gallery>

==Amulets==
{{main|List of ancient Egyptian statuary with amulet necklaces}}
An amulet is a small charm worn to afford its owner magical protection, or to convey certain qualities (for example, a lion amulet might convey strength, or a set-square amulet might convey rectitude). Attested from the [[Badarian culture|Badarian]] period onward, amulets were produced both for the living and the dead. Particular amulets were placed at specific places in the mummy wrappings. The [[heart scarab]] was a specialized form of amulet to protect the heart of the deceased in the afterlife. Amulets were made from a wide variety of materials, including [[faience]], glass, and [[precious stones]] – with color often playing an important symbolic role – and in a wide variety of forms. They might depict sacred objects (such as the [[Djed]] pillar, [[Tyet]] girdle or [[Eye of Horus|Wedjad]] eye); animals (bull's head amulets were particularly common in the late [[Prehistoric Egypt|Predynastic period]]); or [[Egyptian hieroglyphs|hieroglyphs]] (for example, [[Ankh]] or [[Egyptian biliteral signs|Sa]]). From the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] onward, deities – especially household deities such as [[Bes]] and [[Taweret]] – were popular subjects for amulets.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|pp=24 & 25}}

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Heryshaf as ram sitted on nenufar-E 11074-IMG 8145-gradient.jpg|Amulet in the form of [[Heryshaf]] seated on a lotus; 1069–332 BC; gold; height: 11.5&nbsp;cm, width: 3.4&nbsp;cm; [[Louvre]]

Egyptian - Thoth-Baboon - Walters 481543 (cropped).jpg|Amulet that depicts [[Thoth]] as a baboon holding the [[Eye of Horus]]; 664–332&nbsp;BC; Egyptian faience with light green glaze; height: 3.9&nbsp;cm, width: 2.4&nbsp;cm, depth: 2.5&nbsp;cm; [[Walters Art Museum]] ([[Baltimore]], US)

Amulet- Triad of Isis, Horus, Nephthys MET DP311615.jpg|Amulet which depicts a triad of [[Isis]], [[Horus]] and [[Nephthys]]; 664–332&nbsp;BC; faience; height: 4.5&nbsp;cm, width: 3&nbsp;cm, depth: 2.2&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)

Tawerert Amulet MET DP278212 (cropped).jpg|Amulet depicting [[Taweret]]; 664–332&nbsp;BC; faience; height: 9.7&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
</gallery>

===Scarab-shaped amulets===
{{main|Scarab (artifact)}}
The protective amulet for the heart was in the form of the [[Scarabaeus sacer|scarab beetle]], the manifestation of the creator and solar deity [[Khepri]]. It was a symbol of new life and resurrection. The scarab beetle was seen to push a ball of dung along the ground, and from this came the idea of the beetle rolling the sun across the sky. Subsequently, the young beetles were observed to hatch from their eggs inside the ball, hence the idea of creation: life springs forth from primordial mud.

The heart scarab was a large scarab amulet which was wrapped in the mummy bandaging over the deceased's heart. It was made from a range of green and dark-colored materials, including faience, glass, glazed [[steatite]], [[schist]], [[feldspar]], [[hematite]] and obsidian.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gahlin|first1=Lucia|title=Egypt God, Myths and Religion|date=2014|publisher=Hermes House|page=159}}</ref> Black was also associated with the afterlife, while blue and green were associated with the birth and the life-giving waters of the [[Nile]].

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Heart scarab of Singer of Amun Iakaiu MET 26.7.731 top.jpg|Heart scarab of the singer of Amun Iakai; 1550–1186&nbsp;BC; glass; length: 4.8&nbsp;cm, width: 3.5&nbsp;cm, height: 1.5&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)

Heart scarab of Singer of Amun Iakaiu MET 26.7.731 bottom.jpg|The back of a heart scarab of the singer of Amun Iakai; 1550–1186&nbsp;BC; glass; length: 4.8&nbsp;cm, width: 3.5&nbsp;cm, height: 1.5&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Commemorative Scarab of Amenhotep III Recording a Lion Hunt MET DP136529 (cropped).jpg|Commemorative scarab of [[Amenhotep&nbsp;III]], recording a lion hunt; 1390–1352&nbsp;BC; blue-glazed steatite; length: 8&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Commemorative Scarab of Amenhotep III Recording a Lion Hunt MET 26.7.264 back.jpg|The back of a commemorative scarab of [[Amenhotep&nbsp;III]], recording a lion hunt; 1390–1352&nbsp;BC; blue glazed steatite; length: 8&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
</gallery>

==Pottery==
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2019}}
{{main|Ancient Egyptian pottery}}
{{see also|Funerary cone}}
Different types of pottery items were deposited in tombs of the dead. Some such pottery items represented interior parts of the body, such as the [[lung]]s, the [[liver]] and smaller [[intestine]]s, which were removed before [[embalming]]. A large number of smaller objects in enamel pottery were also deposited with the dead. It was customary for the tomb walls to be crafted with cones of pottery, about {{convert|6|to|10|in|cm|abbr=on|order=flip}} tall, on which were engraved or impressed legends relating to the dead occupants of the tombs. These cones usually contained the names of the deceased, their titles, offices which they held, and some expressions appropriate to funeral purposes.

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Blue-Painted Jar from Malqata MET 12.180.38 view 1.jpg|Blue-painted jar from Malqata; 1390–1353&nbsp;BC; painted pottery; height: 69&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)

Neck of a Wide-Mouthed Hathor Jar MET DP160296.jpg|[[Hathor]]-shaped jar; 1390–1353&nbsp;BC; painted pottery; height: 24.5&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Cup ornated with papyrus-AF 12840-IMG 2718.JPG|Cup ornated with papyrus flowers; 653–640 BC; terracotta; [[Louvre]]

Gobelet ornated with uraeus-AF 12839-IMG 2723.JPG|Goblet ornated with [[uraeus]]es; 653–640 BC; terracotta; Louvre
</gallery>

==Calligraphy==
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2019}}
{{main|Egyptian hieroglyphs}}
Egyptian writing remained a remarkably conservative [[writing system|system]], and the preserve of a tiny literate minority, while the spoken [[Egyptian language|language]] underwent considerable change. Egyptian stelas are decorated with finely carved hieroglyphs.

The use of hieroglyphic writing arose from [[Proto-writing|proto-literate]] symbol systems in the [[Early Bronze Age]], around the 32nd&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC ([[Naqada&nbsp;III]]), with the first decipherable sentence written in the Egyptian language dating to the [[Second Dynasty of Egypt|Second Dynasty]] (28th&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC). Egyptian hieroglyphs developed into a mature writing system used for monumental inscription in the [[Middle Egyptian|classical language]] of the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] period; during this period, the system made use of about 900 distinct signs. The use of this writing system continued through the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] and [[Late Period of ancient Egypt|Late Period]], and on into the [[Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt|Persian]] and [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic]] periods. Late use of hieroglyphics are found in the [[Egypt (Roman province)|Roman period]], extending into the 4th&nbsp;century&nbsp;AD.

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Edfu Temple 032010 21 d2.jpg|Relief with hieroglyphs from the [[Edfu Temple]] ([[Edfu]], Egypt)

Minnakht 01.JPG|Hieroglyphs on the Stele Minnakht from c.&nbsp;1321&nbsp;BC, in the [[Louvre]]

Sarcophagus of Ankhnesneferibre.jpg|Detail from the side of a sarcophagus, circa 530 BC, in the [[British Museum]] (London)

Hieroglyphs from the tomb of Seti I.jpg|Hieroglyphs from the tomb of [[Seti&nbsp;I]]
</gallery>

==Furniture==
[[File:Quattro sedie reali coi loro suppedanei (NYPL b14291206-425431).jpg|thumb|Illustrations of four royal chairs with their supporters]]
Although, by modern standards, ancient Egyptian houses would have been very sparsely furnished, woodworking and cabinet-making were highly developed crafts. All the main types of furniture are attested, either as surviving examples or in tomb decoration. Chairs were only for the wealthy; most people would have used low stools. Beds consisted of a wooden frame, with matting or leather webbing to provide support; the most elaborate beds also had a canopy, hung with netting, to provide extra privacy and protection from insects. The feet of chairs, stools and beds were often modeled to resemble bull hooves or, in later periods, lion feet or duck heads. Wooden furniture was often coated with a layer of [[plaster]] and painted.

Royal furniture was more elaborate, making use of inlays, veneers and marquetry. Funerary objects from the [[KV62|tomb of Tutankhamun]] include tables, boxes and chests, a gilded throne, and ritual beds shaped like elongated hippos and cattle. The burial equipment of [[Hetepheres]] included a set of travelling furniture, light and easy to dismantle. Such furniture must have been used on military campaigns and other royal journeys.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|p=87}} Egyptian furniture has highly influenced the development of [[Greco-Roman world#Culture|Greco-Roman]] furniture. It also was one of the principal sources of inspiration of a style known as [[Empire style|Empire]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ecaterina Oproiu|first1=Tatiana Corvin|title=Enciclopedia căminului|date=1975|publisher=Editura științifică și enciclopedică|page=17|language=ro}}</ref> The main [[Motif (visual arts)|motifs]] used are: palm and lotus leaves, flowers, lion heads and claws, bull hooves, bird heads, and geometric combinations. Everything is sober and with a monumental character.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Graur|first1=Neaga|title=Stiluri în arta decorativă|date=1970|publisher=Cerces|page=16 & 17|language=ro}}</ref>

<gallery widths="170" heights="170">
File:Furniture leg in shape of bull's leg MET DP250147.jpg|Furniture leg in shape of bull's leg; 2960–2770 BC; hippopotamus ivory; height: 17&nbsp;cm, width: 3.4&nbsp;cm, depth: 5.8&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
File:Stool with woven seat MET 14.10.3 view 4.jpg|Stool with woven seat; 1991–1450 BC; wood & reed; height: 13&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Inlaid box for cosmetic vessels of Sithathoryunet MET DP311776.jpg|Inlaid box for cosmetic vessels of Sithathoryunet; 1887–1813 BC; ebony, inlaid with ivory and red wood (restored) and gold trim; height: 25.2&nbsp;cm, length: 36.4&nbsp;cm, depth: 25.2&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Headrest with Two Images of the God Bes, ca. 1539-1190 B.C.E.,37.435E.jpg|Headrest; 1539–1190 BC; wood; 17.8 x 28.6 x 7.6&nbsp;cm; [[Brooklyn Museum]] (New York City)
File:Hatnefer's Chair MET 21M CAT047R4 (cropped).jpg|Chair of [[Hatnofer|Hatnefer]]; 1492–1473&nbsp;BC; boxwood, cypress, ebony & linen cord; height: 53&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Chair of Reniseneb MET DT536.jpg|[[Chair of Reniseneb]]; 1450&nbsp;BC; wood, ebony & ivory; height: 86.2&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Egyptian Museum 000 (37).jpg|The Throne of [[Tutankhamun]]; 1336–1327 BC; wood covered with sheets of gold, silver, [[semi-precious stone|semi-precious]] and other stones, faience, glass and bronze; height: 1&nbsp;m; [[Egyptian Museum]] (Cairo)
File:Petit fauteuil de Toutânkhamon 2019.jpg|Armchair of Tutankhamun; 1336–1326 BC; wood, ebony, ivory and gold leaf; height: 71&nbsp;cm; Exposition of Tutankhamun Treasure in Paris (2019)
</gallery>

==Clothing==
{{main|Clothing in ancient Egypt}}
Artistic representations, supplemented by surviving garments, are the main sources of evidence for ancient Egyptian fashion. The two sources are not always in agreement, however, and it seems that representations were more concerned with highlighting certain attributes of the person depicted than with accurately recordings their true appearance. For example, women were often shown with restrictive, tight-fitting dresses, perhaps to emphasize their figures.

As in most societies, fashions in Egypt changed over time; different clothes were worn in different seasons of the year, and by different sections of society. Particular office-holders, especially priests and the king, had their own special garments.

For the general population, clothing was simple, predominantly of linen, and probably white or off-white in color. It would have shown the dirt easily, and professional launderers are known to have been attached to the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] workmen's village at [[Deir el-Medina]]. Men would have worn a simple loin-cloth or short kilt (known as ''[[shendyt]]''), supplemented in winter by a heavier tunic. High-status individuals could express their status through their clothing, and were more susceptible to changes in fashion.

Longer, more voluminous clothing made an appearance in the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]]; flowing, elaborately pleated, diaphanous robes for men and women were particularly popular in the late [[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt|18th Dynasty]] and the Ramesside period. Decorated textiles also became more common in the New Kingdom. In all periods, women's dresses may have been enhanced by colorful bead netting worn over the top. In the [[Egypt (Roman province)|Roman Period]], Egypt became known for the manufacture of fine clothing. [[Coiled sewn sandals]] or sandals of leather are the most commonly attested types of footwear. Examples of these, together with linen shirts and other clothing, were discovered in [[KV62|the tomb of Tutankhamun]].{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|p=53}}

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Pair of Sandals MET 10.184.1a-b EGDP014939.jpg|Pair of sandals; 1390–1352&nbsp;BC; grass, reed and [[papyrus]]; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)

Ancient Egyptian, Assyrian, and Persian costumes and decorations (1920) (14741944536).jpg|Illustration from the book ''Ancient Egyptian, Assyrian, and Persian costumes and decorations''

Ancient Egyptian, Assyrian, and Persian costumes and decorations (1920) (14761789471).jpg|Illustration of a goddess from ''Ancient Egyptian, Assyrian, and Persian costumes and decorations''

The General Tjahapimu MET LC-08 205 1 EGDP023610.jpg|Statue of [[Tjahapimu]] wearing a shendyt, Metropolitan Museum of Art
</gallery>

==Cosmetics==
{{main|Beauty and cosmetics in ancient Egypt}}
Use of makeup, especially around the eyes, was a characteristic feature of ancient Egyptian culture from [[Prehistoric Egypt|Predynastic times]]. Black [[Kohl (cosmetics)|kohl]] (eye-paint) was applied to protect the eyes, as well as for aesthetic reasons. It was usually made of [[galena]], giving a silvery-black color; during the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt|Old Kingdom]], green eye-paint was also used, made from [[malachite]]. Egyptian women painted their lips and cheeks, using rouge made from red ochre. [[Henna]] was applied as a dye for hair, fingernails and toenails, and perhaps also nipples. Creams and unguents to condition the skin were popular, and were made from various plant extracts.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|p=57}}

<gallery widths="160px" heights="170px">
Cosmetic Box of the Royal Butler Kemeni MET DP311793.jpg|Cosmetic Box of the Royal Butler Kemeni; 1814–1805&nbsp;BC; [[Cedar wood|cedar]] with ebony, ivory veneer and silver mounting; height: {{convert|20.3|cm|in|abbr=on}}; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)

Cosmetic Dish in the Shape of a Bolti Fish MET DP116115.jpg|Cosmetic dish in the shape of a [[tilapia]] fish; 1479–1425&nbsp;BC; glazed steatite; {{convert|8.6|×|18.1|cm|in|abbr=on}}; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Cosmetic box in the shape of a composite capital MET DT4407.jpg|Cosmetic box in the shape of an Egyptian composite capital, its cap being in the left side; 664–300&nbsp;BC; glassy faience; {{convert|8.5|×|9|cm|in|abbr=on}}; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Perfume vase MET 30.8.177 EGDP017567 (cropped).jpg|Perfume vase in shape of an [[amphoriskos]]; 664–630&nbsp;BC; glass: {{convert|8 × 4|cm|in|abbr=on}}; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Kohl Container Inscribed for Queen Tiye LACMA M.80.198.89.jpg|An 18th Dynasty ancient Egyptian [[Kohl (cosmetics)|kohl container]] inscribed for Queen [[Tiye]] (1410–1372 BC)
</gallery>

==Music==
{{main|Music of Egypt}}
On secular and religious occasions, music played an important part in celebrations. Musicians, playing instruments such as the castanets and flute, are depicted on objects from the [[Prehistoric Egypt|Predynastic Period]]. A wide range of percussions, wind and string instruments were known to the ancient Egyptian. They include rattles, clappers, drums, tambourines and the [[sistrum]]; pipes, flutes and trumpets; and harps (particularly popular at feasts). The lyre and lute were introduced from the [[Levant]]. Musical notation is not attested until the early [[Ptolemaic Period]]. Groups of musicians, either mixed gender or female only, are known from the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt|Old Kingdom]]. Women singers and [[sistrum]]-players had an important role in temple cults, especially those of [[Hathor]] and [[Isis]]. Tomb decoration from all periods indicates that, as today, groups of workers sang to generate a sense of solidarity and to maintain their enthusiasm.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|p=161}}

<gallery widths="160px" heights="170px">
Maler der Grabkammer des Nacht 001.jpg|A blind harpist from a mural of the 15th century BC

Arched Harp (shoulder harp) MET DP23096 43.2.1.jpg|[[Arched Harp]] (shoulder harp); 1390–1295&nbsp;BC; wood; length of sound box: 36&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)

Head of Hathor from a clapper the inscription calling the musician who used it "beloved by the goddess Mut , Lady of Isheru (Karnak) MET DP311633 (cropped).jpg|Head of Hathor from a clapper; 1295–664&nbsp;BC; possibly boxwood; 12 × 6.2&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tomb of Nacht, 3 musicians.jpg|Detail of a frieze from [[TT52]] in which are depicted three musicians

Houghton Typ 815.09.3210 - Description de l'Égypte, vol 11, p 91.2.jpg|Illustration of a harper playing in front of god [[Shu (Egyptian god)|Shu]]
</gallery>

===Sistrum===
{{main|Sistrum}}
A sistrum (plural: sistra) is a rattle used in religious ceremonies, especially temple rituals, and usually played by women. Called a "seshsehet" in Egyptian, the name imitates the swishing sound the small metal disks made when the instrument was shaken. It was closely associated with [[Hathor]] in her role as "lady of music", and the handle was often decorated with a Hathor head. Two kinds of sistrum are attested, [[Naos (hieroglyph)|naos]]-shaped and hoop-shaped; the latter became the more common.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|p=230}}

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Bat - Hathor emblem from a sistrum MET DP311613 (cropped).jpg|Sistrum decorated with a [[Hathor]] face; 664–332&nbsp;BC; faience; length: 15.5&nbsp;cm, width: 6.4&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)

Faience Sistrum Inscribed with the Name of Ptolemy I MET DP245512.jpg|Sistrum inscribed with the name of [[Ptolemy I]]; 305–282&nbsp;BC; faience; 26.7 × 7.5&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Egyptian - Sistrum - Walters 541207.jpg|Sistrum with the face of the goddess Hathor depicted with cow ears; 380–250&nbsp;BC; bronze; 36.3&nbsp;cm; [[Walters Art Museum]] ([[Baltimore]], US)

Sistrum MET 19.5 EGDP013762.jpg|1st–2nd&nbsp;century&nbsp;AD; bronze or copper alloy; 20.6 × 14&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
</gallery>

==Funerary art==
{{See also|Funerary_art#Ancient_Egypt_and_Nubia}}

===Coffins===
[[File:Detail of Tutankhamun's middle coffin.jpg|thumb|300px|Detail of the middle coffin of [[Tutankhamun]]; 1355–1346&nbsp;BC; wood, [[gold leaf]], semi-precious stones and inlaid glass; 39 × 12 × 12&nbsp;cm; [[Egyptian Museum, Cairo|Egyptian Museum]] (Cairo). The king is shown in the Osiride form, with arms crossed over the chest and holding the [[crook and flail]] symbols of power and authority.]]
The earliest purpose-built funerary containers for bodies were simple rectangular wooden boxes, attested in the [[First Dynasty of Egypt|1st&nbsp;Dynasty]]. A coffin swiftly became an essential part of the burial equipment. Known euphemistically as the "lord of life", its primary function was to provide a home for the Ka and to protect the physical body from harm. In the [[Fourth Dynasty of Egypt|4th Dynasty]], the development of longer coffins allowed the body to be buried fully extended (rather than curled up on its side in a foetal position). At the end of the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt|Old Kingdom]], it became customary once more for the body to be laid on its side. The side of the coffin that faced east in the tomb was decorated with a pair of eyes so that the deceased could look out towards the rising sun with its promise of daily rebirth. Coffins also began to be decorated on the outside with bands of funerary texts, while pictures of food and drink offerings were painted on the inside to provide a magical substitute for the real provisions placed in the tomb.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

In the [[First Intermediate Period of Egypt|First Intermediate Period]], decorated coffins became a substitute for tomb decoration; in the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]], coffin texts made their first appearance, sometimes accompanied by detailed maps of the underworld. Middle Kingdom coffins show a number of distinct regional styles, echoing the cultural fragmentation of the preceding period. In the [[Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt|17th]] and early [[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt|18th Dynasties]], the Theban area produced characteristic anthropoid ''rishi'' (feathered) coffins. These were replaced (except for kings) by other styles of anthropoid coffins which became the standard form throughout the country for the remainder of Egyptian history. The predominance of decorated tombs in the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] removed the need of object friezes, so coffins were generally undecorated on the inside. However, this situation was reversed again in the [[Third Intermediate Period of Egypt|Third Intermediate Period]] when new types of coffin decoration focused on the [[Osiris]] myth and extracts from the ''[[Book of the Dead]]'', to aid the resurrection of the deceased. In the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic]] and [[Egypt (Roman province)|Roman]] periods, a cartonnage mask was often fixed directly onto the mummy wrappings as a substitute for a coffin.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

Coffins were generally made of wood; those of high-status individuals used fine quality, imported [[Cedar wood|cedar]]. From the Middle Kingdom onward, wealthy individuals were often provided with a set of two or three nested coffins. The most sumptuous coffins might be inlaid with glass or precious stones, while royal coffins were often made from gold or silver.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|pp=53, 54 & 55}}

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Coffin and Mummy of the Estate Manager Khnumhotep MET 12.182.131a-b EGDP011949.jpg|Coffin of the estate manager [[Khnumhotep]]; 1981–1802&nbsp;BC; painted wood ([[ficus sycomorus]]); height: {{convert|81.3|cm|in|abbr=on}}; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)

Clevelandart 1914.714.jpg|Coffin of Nesykhonsu; c.&nbsp;976&nbsp;BC; gessoed and painted sycamore fig; overall: 70&nbsp;cm; [[Cleveland Museum of Art]] ([[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], US)

Inner coffin of Amenemopet MET LC-17 2 7b EGDP026803.jpg|Inner coffin of [[Amenemopet]]; 975–909&nbsp;BC; painted wood & gesso; length: {{convert|195|cm|in|abbr=on}}; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Coffin of Irtirutja MET 86.1.52a b EGDP023064.jpg|Coffin of [[Irtirutja]]; 332–250&nbsp;BC; plastered, painted and gilded wood; length: {{convert|198.8|cm|in|abbr=on}}; Metropolitan Museum of Art
</gallery>

===Canopic jars===
{{Main|Canopic jar}}
Canopic jars are vessels which were used for storing the internal organs removed during mummification. These were named after the human-headed jars that were worshiped as personifications of Kanops (the helmsman of [[Menelaus]] in [[Greek mythology]]) by the inhabitants of ancient Canopus. The practice of evisceration is first attested in the burial of [[Hetepheres]]{{Clarify|date=July 2023|reason=Which of the several Hetepheres from the 4th dynasty?}} in the early [[Fourth Dynasty of Egypt|4th Dynasty]]. Her organs were stored in a [[travertine]] [[canopic chest]] divided into four compartments. Later, each organ – the [[liver]], [[lung]]s, [[stomach]] and [[intestine]]s – was provided with a separate jar, of stone or pottery, and placed under the symbolic protection of one of the [[Four sons of Horus]]. During the [[First Intermediate Period of Egypt|First Intermediate Period]], the stoppers of canopic jars began to be modeled in the form of human heads. From the late [[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt|18th Dynasty]], they were more commonly modelled to resemble the heads of the protecting genii ([[baboon]], [[jackal]], [[falcon]] and human). This became the standard for canopic equipment in the [[Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt|19th Dynasty]]. In the [[Third Intermediate Period of Egypt|Third Intermediate Period]], the mummified organs were generally returned to the body, but wealthy burials could still include a dummy set of jars. The last known royal set of canopic jars were made of [[Apries]]. The manufacture of canopic equipment continued into the [[Ptolemaic Period]] but ceased by Roman times.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|p=48}}

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Canopic Jar of Ruiu MET LC-35 3 33 EGDP025315.jpg|Canopic jars of [[Ruiu]]; 1504–1447&nbsp;BC; painted pottery; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
Kanopenschrein Tutanchamuns.jpg|Canopic jars of [[Tutankhamun]]; 1333–1323&nbsp;BC; [[alabaster]]; total height: 85.5&nbsp;cm; [[Egyptian Museum]] (Cairo)
Egyptian - A Complete Set of Canopic Jars - Walters 41171, 41172, 41173, 41174 - Group.jpg|Complete set of canopic jars; 900–800&nbsp;BC; painted limestone; [[Walters Art Museum]] ([[Baltimore]], US)
Canopic Jars (9174679414).jpg|Complete set of canopic jars decorated with [[Egyptian hieroglyphic|hieroglyphics]]; 744–656&nbsp;BC; painted sycomore fig wood; various heights; [[British Museum]] (London)
</gallery>

===Masks===
Funerary masks have been used at all periods. Examples range from the gold masks of [[Tutankhamun]] and [[Psusennes&nbsp;I]] to the [[Fayum mummy portraits|Roman "mummy portraits"]] from [[Hawara]] and the [[Fayum]]. Whether in a funerary or religious context, the purpose of a mask was the same: to transform the wearer from a mortal to a divine state.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|p=144}}

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Funerary mask of Sitdjehuti.jpg|Mask of [[Sitdjehuti]]; c.&nbsp;1500&nbsp;BC; linen, plaster, gold and paint; height: {{convert|61|cm|in|abbr=on}}; [[British Museum]] (London)

Egyptian Museum (337).jpg|Mask of [[Tjuyu]]; c.&nbsp;1387–1350&nbsp;BC; gold, past of glass, alabaster and other materials; height: 40&nbsp;cm; [[Egyptian Museum]] ([[Cairo]])

CairoEgMuseumTaaMaskMostlyPhotographed.jpg|The ''[[Mask of Tutankhamun]]''; c.&nbsp;1327&nbsp;BC; gold, glass and semi-precious stones; height: {{convert|54|cm|in|abbr=on}}; Egyptian Museum

File:Fayum-34.jpg|Mummy portrait of a young woman; 100–150 AD; cedar wood, encaustic painting and gold; height: 42&nbsp;cm, width: 24&nbsp;cm; [[Louvre]]
</gallery>

===Ushabti===
{{main|Ushabti}}
[[Ushabti]]s (a.k.a. shawabti or shabti) are funerary figurines. Their purpose was to act as a substitute for the deceased when he was called upon to perform agricultural work or corvée labor in the afterlife. Ushabtis evolved in the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] from the servant statues included among [[grave goods]]. The earliest examples were crude statuettes in wax, clay or wood; later, they were fashioned as mummiform figures and, from the end of the [[Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt|12th&nbsp;Dynasty]], they were customarily inscribed with the "ushabti text" (chapter&nbsp;6 of the ''[[Book of the dead]]'' which specifies the ushabti's duties).{{sfn|Wilkinson|2008|p=226}}

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Shabti of Paser, the Vizier of Seti I and Ramesses II MET 22.2.29 EGDP020461 (cropped).jpg|Shabti of [[Paser (vizier)|Paser]], the vizier of [[Seti&nbsp;I]] and [[Ramesses II]]; 1294–1213&nbsp;BC; faience; height: 15&nbsp;cm, width: 4.9&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)

Shabti of Sennedjem MET 86.1.22 front rgb.jpg|Shabti of [[Sennedjem]]; 1279–1213&nbsp;BC; painted limestone; height: 27&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Shabti of Khabekhnet and Iineferty MET DT202025.jpg|Four ushabtis of [[Khabekhnet]] and their box; 1279–1213&nbsp;BC; painted limestone; height of the ushabtis: 16.7&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ushebti figurine of Tjahorpato-MAHG Eg 17-IMG 1852-gradient.jpg|Ushabti; 360–343&nbsp;BC; ceramic and enamel; 26.7 × 7.1&nbsp;cm; from [[Saqqara]]; [[Musée d'Art et d'Histoire (Geneva)|Museum of Art and History]] ([[Geneva]], Switzerland)
</gallery>

==Art of Meroë==
{{see also|Meroë}}
[[Ancient Egypt]] shared a long and complex history with the [[Nile]] Valley to the south, the region called [[Nubia]] (modern [[Sudan]]). Beginning with the [[Kerma culture]] and continuing with the [[Kingdom of Kush]] based at [[Napata]] and then [[Meroë]], Nubian culture absorbed Egyptian influences at various times, for both political and religious reasons. The result is a rich and complex visual culture.

The artistic production of Meroë reflects a range of influences. First, it was an indigenous African culture with roots stretching back thousands of years. To this is added the fact that the wealth of Meroë was based on trade with Egypt when it was ruled by the [[Ptolemaic dynasty]] (332–330&nbsp;BC) and the [[Egypt (Roman province)|Romans]] (30&nbsp;BC&nbsp;– 395&nbsp;AD), so Hellenistic and Roman objects and ideas were imported, as well as Egyptian influences.

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Egyptian - Votive Plaque of King Tanyidamani - Walters 22258 - Back.jpg|Votive plaque of king [[Tanyidamani]]; c.&nbsp;100&nbsp;BC; [[siltstone]]; 18.5 × 9.5&nbsp;cm; [[Walters Art Museum]] ([[Baltimore]], US)

Egyptian - Votive Plaque of King Tanyidamani - Walters 22258.jpg|Votive plaque of king Tanyidamani and [[Apedemak]], The [[Naqa]] kiosk, Excavation by John Garstang, 1909-1910, in the Temple of Apedemak; c.&nbsp;100&nbsp;BC; siltstone; 18.5 × 9.5&nbsp;cm Walters Art Museum

Aegyptisches Museum Berlin InvNr20856 20080313 merotische Keramik aus Faras.jpg|Pot from [[Faras]]; 300&nbsp;BC – 350&nbsp;AD; terracotta; height: 18&nbsp;cm; [[Egyptian Museum of Berlin]] (Germany)

Aegyptisches Museum Berlin InvNr4603 20080313 merotische Keramik vom Gebel Barkal.jpg|Beaker; 300&nbsp;BC – 350&nbsp;BAD; terracotta; height: 10.5&nbsp;cm; Egyptian Museum of Berlin
</gallery>

==Egyptian Revival art==
{{Main|Egyptian Revival decorative arts|Egyptian Revival architecture}}
{{See also|Ancient Egypt in the Western imagination}}
[[File:Place du Caire.jpg|thumb|Foire du Caire building (1828), from Paris, an early manifestation of Egyptian Revivalism: façade adorned with heads of the Egyptian goddess [[Hathor]]]]
Egyptian Revival art is a style in Western art, mainly of the early nineteenth century, in which Egyptian motifs were applied to a wide variety of [[decorative arts]] objects. It was underground in American decorative arts throughout the nineteenth century, continuing into the 1920s. The major motifs of Egyptian art, such as [[obelisk]]s, [[Egyptian hieroglyph|hieroglyphs]], the sphinx, and pyramids, were used in various artistic media, including architecture, furniture, ceramics, and silver. Egyptian motifs provided an exotic alternative to the more traditional styles of the day. Over the course of the nineteenth century, American tastes evolved from a highly ornamented aesthetic to a simpler, sparer sense of decoration; the vocabulary of ancient Egyptian art would be interpreted and adapted in different ways depending on the standards and motivations of the time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/erev/hd_erev.htm |title=Egyptian Revival |author=Sara Ickow |website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art}}</ref> This legacy endures in contemporary Egyptian art, as seen in the work of Rasha Amin, whose Cairo upbringing shapes her multidisciplinary pieces, reflecting the influence of Egypt’s rich cultural heritage.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.galleryand.studio/2024/03/31/rasha-amins-visual-stories-of-hope |title=Rasha Amin’s Visual Stories of Hope |author=Staff |website=Gallery & Studio |date=2024-03-31 |access-date=2025-03-11}}</ref>

Enthusiasm for the artistic style of Ancient Egypt is generally attributed to the excitement over [[French campaign in Egypt and Syria|Napoleon's conquest of Egypt]] and, in Britain, to Admiral Nelson's defeat of Napoleon at the [[Battle of the Nile]] in 1798. Napoleon took a scientific expedition with him to Egypt. Publication of the expedition's work, the ''[[Description de l'Égypte]]'', began in 1809 and came out in a series though 1826, inspiring everything from sofas with sphinxes for legs, to tea sets painted with the pyramids. It was the popularity of the style that was new, Egyptianizing works of art had appeared in scattered European settings from the time of the [[Renaissance art|Renaissance]].

<gallery widths="170" heights="170">
File:Hôtel de Beauharnais.jpg|The Egyptian Revival [[portico]] of the [[Hôtel Beauharnais]] from Paris
File:Coin cabinet MET DP103176.jpg|Coin cabinet; by [[François-Honoré-Georges Jacob-Desmalter]]; 1809–1819; [[mahogany]] with silver; 90.2 x 50.2 x 37.5&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
File:Neues Museum Aegyptischer Hof.jpg|1862 lithograph of the Aegyptischer Hof (English: Egyptian court), from the [[Neues Museum]] (Berlin)
File:Center Table MET RRP Table 68.207 Ret (cropped).jpg|Center table; 1870–1875; rosewood, walnut and marble; 79.4 x 119.4 x 78.7&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Armchair MET DT179.jpg|Side chair and armchair; 1870–1875; rosewood and prickly juniper veneer; various dimensions; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:Pitcher MET DP113141.jpg|Pitcher; circa 1872; silver; overall: 28.6 x 15.6 x 21.9&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

File:Costume de la princesse Amnéris.jpg|Design for a costume of Princess Amnéris; by [[Henri de Montaut]]; 1879; pencil and watercolor paint; unknown dimensions; in a temporary exhibition called "L'aventure Champollion" at the [[Site François-Mitterrand]], part of the [[Bibliothèque nationale de France]], Paris

File:Clock MET DT287182.jpg|Clock; by [[Tiffany & Co.]]; circa 1885; marble & bronze; 46 x 51.1 x 19.7&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:2043-05370 De Grote Tempel van de vrijmetselaarsloge Les Amis Philanthropes.jpg|Interior of the Temple maçonnique des Amis philanthropes in [[City of Brussels|Brussels]] ([[Belgium]]), an example of an Egyptian Revival interior
File:Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt.JPG|The [[Supreme Constitutional Court (Egypt)|Supreme Constitutional Court]] of [[Egypt]].
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[History of art]]
* [[Ancient art]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note|30em}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last=Bard |first=Kathryn A. |title=An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt |edition=2nd |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=2015 |isbn=9780470673362 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lFscBgAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book |author-last=el-Shahawy |author-first=Abeer |title=The Egyptian Museum in Cairo: A Walk Through the Alleys of Ancient Egypt |year=2005 |publisher=Farid Atiya Press |isbn=977-17--2183-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cAyjwKyoHiEC&pg=PA160 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Bietak |first=Manfred |author-link=Manfred Bietak |chapter=Hyksos |title=Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt |editor-last=Bard |editor-first=Kathryn A. |year=1999 |pages=377–379 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781134665259 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AWSGAgAAQBAJ&q=Hyksos }}
* Evers, Hans Gerhard: ''Staat aus dem Stein – Denkmäler, Geschichte und Bedeutung der ägyptischen Plastik während des Mittleren Reichs.'' 2 volumes, Bruckmann, Munich 1929 ([https://archiv.evers.frydrych.org/staat_aus_dem_stein.html download at ''archiv.evers.frydrych.org'']).
* {{cite book|author-last=Müller|author-first=Vera |chapter=Chronological Concepts for the Second Intermediate Period and Their Implications for the Evaluation of Its Material Culture |title=THE HYKSOS RULER KHYAN AND THE EARLY SECOND INTERMEDIATE PERIOD IN EGYPT: PROBLEMS AND PRIORITIES OF CURRENT RESEARCH. Proceedings of the Workshop of the Austrian Archaeological Institute and the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, Vienna, July 4 – 5, 2014 |editor-last1=Forstner-Müller |editor-first1=Irene |editor-last2=Moeller |editor-first2=Nadine |publisher=Holzhausen |year=2018 |isbn=978-3-902976-83-3 |pages=199–216 }}
* {{cite book|last=von Beckerath |first=Jürgen |author-link=Jürgen von Beckerath|title= Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen|publisher=von Zabern |year=1999 |isbn= 3-8053-2591-6 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Candelora |first=Danielle |title=Entangled in Orientalism: How the Hyksos Became a Race |journal=Journal of Egyptian History |volume=11 |year=2018 |issue=1–2 |pages=45–72 |doi=10.1163/18741665-12340042|s2cid=216703371 }}
* {{cite book |last=Roy |first=Jane |title=The Politics of Trade: Egypt and Lower Nubia in the 4th Millennium BC |year=2011 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-19610-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9En6tzUJCXkC }}
* {{cite book|last=Pfeiffer|first=Stefan|title=Griechische und lateinische Inschriften zum Ptolemäerreich und zur römischen Provinz Aegyptus|series=Einführungen und Quellentexte zur Ägyptologie|volume=9|publisher=Lit|location=Münster|year=2015|language=German}}
* {{cite book|last=O'Connor |first=David |chapter=Egypt, the Levant, and the Aegean: From the Hyksos Period to the Rise of the New Kingdom |pages=108–122 |title=Beyond Babylon : art, trade, and diplomacy in the second millennium B.C. |editor-last1=Aruz |editor-first1=Joan |editor-last2=Benzel |editor-first2=Kim |editor-last3=Evans |editor-first3=Jean M. |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2009|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gr5BgOwEJicC&q=Hyksos+15th+Dynasty&pg=PA108 |isbn=9780300141436 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Daressy |first=Georges |title=Un poignard du temps des Rois Pasteurs |journal=Annales du Service des Antiquités de l'Égypte |year=1906 |volume=7 |pages=115–120 |url=https://archive.org/stream/annalesduservice78egyp/annalesduservice78egyp#page/n124/mode/1up}}
* {{cite book|last=Redford |first=Donald B.|author-link=Donald B. Redford |title=Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times |year=1992 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-03606-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/egyptcanaanisrae00redf |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Robins |first=Gay |year=2008 |title=The Art of Ancient Egypt |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-03065-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YD-z8hmdUMIC}}
* {{cite book |last=Smith |first=R.R.R. |title=Hellenistic Sculpture, a handbook |publisher=Thames & Hudson |year=1991 |isbn=0500202494}}
* {{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=W. Stevenson |last2=Simpson |first2=William Kelly |title=The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt |edition=3rd |year=1998 |publisher=Yale University Press |series=Penguin/Yale History of Art |isbn=0300077475}}
* {{cite book |last=Tiradritti |first=Francesco |chapter=The Return of Isis in Egypt: Remarks on Some Statues of Isis and the Diffusion of Her Cult in the Graeco-Roman World |editor-last=Hoffmann |editor-first=Adolf |title=Ägyptische Kulte und ihre Heiligtümer im Osten des Römischen Reiches. Internationales Kolloquium 5./6. September 2003 in Bergama (Türkei) |year=2005 |publisher=Ege Yayınları |isbn=978-1-55540-549-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Van de Mieroop |first=Marc |author-link=Marc van de Mieroop |title=A History of Ancient Egypt |year=2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4051-6070-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JADDYAZ9GIIC}}
* {{cite book|last=Van de Mieroop |first=Marc |author-link=Marc van de Mieroop |title=A History of Ancient Egypt. Second edition |year=2021 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |isbn=978-1-1196-2087-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Wilkinson |first=Toby |title=Dictionary of Ancient Egypt |year=2008 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=978-0-500-20396-5}}

==Further reading==
{{cite book |author=Hill, Marsha | title=Gifts for the gods: images from Egyptian temples |url=http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15324coll10/id/74020 | location=New York | publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art | year=2007 | isbn=9781588392312|ref=none}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Ancient Egyptian art}}

*[http://www.aldokkan.com/art/art.htm Ancient Egyptian Art – Aldokkan]
*[http://www.virtual-egyptian-museum.org/About/Story/About.Story-FR.html Senusret Collection]: A well-annotated introduction to the arts of Egypt

{{Ancient Egypt topics}}
{{Asian topic|| art}}
{{Portal bar|Ancient Egypt|Arts}}

[[Category:Art of ancient Egypt| ]]
[[Category:Egyptian art]]
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